


All for One and Spiders for All

by TickBeard



Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Comic Book Violence, Crossover, Gen, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:40:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 37
Words: 231,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22414135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TickBeard/pseuds/TickBeard
Summary: In a world filled with superpowered beings, heroes and villains, mild mannered Izuku Midoriya was born without any superpowers of his own. Unable to become a hero, Izuku can feel his future slip away from him until one fateful day when he gets bitten by a mutated spider. Now imbued with great power, can he become a hero while also evading the government and managing a secret life?
Relationships: Hatsume Mei/Midoriya Izuku, Knuckleduster & Midoriya Izuku
Comments: 134
Kudos: 399





	1. Field Trip!

The rising sun beamed through the glass walled entranceway and into the bustling, expansive lobby of the Tokyo based Quirk Research Institute. Groups of professionally dressed people trickled back and forth through the security checkpoint before proceeding to their destination with the sort of cool efficiency that only the competitively successful have the energy to muster. Silently ascending and descending glass elevators ferried people between floors as yet more suits streamed into the marbled plaza. These men and woman strode quickly about, speaking curtly to one another about some important business, hardly sparing a second glance at the chatting group of teenagers that were clumped together in their midst.

While they talked, a tired looking, balding, middle-aged man attempted to get their attention.

'Everyone, please settle down. Please, everyone…everyone.' he called, clapping his hands, but none of the fourteen-year old's payed him any mind. They were busily laughing, talking, and playing on their smart phones. After a few moments of trying and failing to silence his students, he lost his patience.

'Everyone! Settle down! NOW!'

The rambunctious group quieted as their red-faced teacher scowled at them.

'Do I have your attention?' he said, his nostrils flaring dangerously.

There were murmurs of assent amongst the students and their teacher continued.

'Now before we go on the tour, I'd like to remind you all to be on your very best behaviour. This is a very rare opportunity for us-'

As he spoke a group of students at the back of the crowd started laughing and jostling one another.

'-and I worked very hard to arrange this trip-'

The students at the back started laughing harder.

'-and when I-' the teacher's eyes narrowed, 'EXCUSE ME?!'

The students in the front parted before their teacher's glare to reveal the back of the class. There, a blonde haired and red eyed boy along with two others stood over a smaller boy who was kneeled on the tiled floor, papers scattered around him. The smaller boy had dark green hair, green eyes, and freckles. A small, worried, smile tugged at his lips as he looked up at his teacher.

'Is something funny going on back there, Midoriya?' snapped the teacher. The blonde-haired boy and his two compatriots stepped away from the smaller boy as he scrambled to his feet.

'N-No, Mr. Tamanegi, sir!' stammered the green-haired boy.

'Midoriya if you would rather goof off, I can arrange for you to wait over by the security station while we go on our fieldtrip if you prefer.'

A look of panic crossed the boy's face and he swallowed nervously.

'No, sir! I-I'll be quiet sir!' Midoriya said.

Mr. Tamanegi regarded him coldly before turning his attention to the blonde standing beside him. He had a cocky grin on his face as he locked eyes with his teacher, silently challenging him to say something. Mr. Tamanegi blinked first and turned his gaze back to Midoriya.

'Clean up your mess.'

'Ye-Yes sir!' Midoriya said. The blonde and his two flunkies started snickering to each other.

'And If I hear so much as another word out of you, you WILL be spending the trip waiting by the exit, do you understand me?'

'Yes, Mr. Tamanegi, sir.' Midoriya said resignedly as he fell to his knees, sweeping his papers back towards him.

'Bakugo, would you please join me at the front?' Mr. Tamanegi asked.

The blonde rolled his eyes and sauntered towards the front of the class. The rest of his classmates smirked as he stepped on and over Midoriya's papers while he and his buddies moved to the front of the crowd.

'It's going to be one of those days…' Midoriya muttered to himself as he piled his notes together and stood up.

As the class moved to rendezvous with the tour guide, Midoriya fell in line at the rear of the group, his lips sealed shut.

* * *

'Welcome Aldera Junior High to the Quirk Research Institute of Tokyo! My name is Doctor Hoshiko Motoori and I've been assigned to act as your tour guide for today! Are you all excited?'

The class mumbled indistinctly in response while a few of the students checked their phones.

'Great!' said the guide, unperturbed at the lack of enthusiasm, 'For your safety and for the safety of those around you I would like to go over a few rules we have here at the ol' Institute, okay? So please listen up!'

Of all the students only Izuku Midoriya gave the guide his undivided attention.

'Firstly, you are required to stay with the tour group at all times. Don't wander away, as there are important experiments being conducted in the laboratories here and we mustn't disturb the researchers.'

The class muttered in acknowledgement.

'Secondly, if I may direct your attention to the door over there?'

The tour guide pointed over to a key card locked steel door. Across its threshold were checkered yellow and black hazard markings.

'Do you see the yellow and black paint? Any door that is marked with either the yellow and black or the red paint is strictly off limits. For your safety, do not attempt to access any of the restricted areas.'

The class mumbled again, somehow even less enthusiastically than before.

'Now, if at any time an alarm is sounded, please stay with the tour group and I will lead you all to the designated fire exit. If you cannot find me or have become separated, calmly wait where you are, and a security staff member will come collect you.' she looked the class over once more before smiling, 'That's all for the rules, let's get this tour started!'

Walking backward, the guide began to narrate with practised ease the history and nature of the scientific work at the Quirk Research Institute while the class reluctantly dragged themselves after her. Amongst the lethargic crowd, Izuku couldn't help but stare open mouthed at the various glass cases and humming computer equipment around him.

After all, this was no common school outing. For Izuku this was his last, desperate hope of gaining a quirk. In the world in which he lived, the majority of the population were born with a special ability called a quirk. These quirks manifested themselves in a staggering variety and ranged from telekinesis, like his mother possessed, to super strength, like the great hero All Might. Some quirks also caused physical mutations, like animal characteristics - such as a tail or wings - that likewise imparted traits not seen in the typical human.

Not all quirks were created equal and those with powerful quirks got further in life than those without. If a person was born with a particularly powerful quirk then they could even become a professional hero, a defender of society and a servant of justice. There was nothing Izuku wanted more then to stand shoulder to shoulder with the professional heroes, helping and inspiring people.

Unfortunately, he was one of very few people in the world who was born quirkless. Quirkless people were heavily disadvantaged in society as nearly every faucet of a person's social standing was influenced in small or large part by their quirk. Everything from employment to personal relationships were affected and for people like him, the future seemed grim indeed.

But despite all the bullying and ridicule Izuku received regarding his condition, he held on to the faint hope that he was just a late bloomer. As soon as he manifested his quirk, he knew that with a focused mind and an eager spirit, he too could be a hero just like his idol All Might. All Might was considered by many to be the pillar upon which society was built. His selfless sacrifices to protect and serve the people inspired an entire generation to be like him, the symbol of peace.

However, for all his wishful thinking about mental fortitude and discipline, he knew deep down that he would never be able to make it as a professional hero unless he developed a quirk, and soon. When he heard that his teacher Mr. Tamanegi had arranged a field trip to the Quirk Research Institute he had practically leapt with joy. Maybe they could help unlock his potential!

And so, Izuku gave the tour guide his undivided attention, writing down everything she said as they moved through the facility.

'Here we are at the Quirk Manifestation Labs or the Hot Labs as we call them on account of the high ambient temperatures that we need to maintain for our experiments. Here you can see researchers hard at work determining what specific factors influence quirk manifestation.'

The class lowered their phones and crowded around a series of glass habitats, each one containing a different insect.

'What's with the bugs?' asked a violet haired girl, a look of disgust visible on her face beneath her thick sunglasses.

'Oh! In the Hot Labs, the majority of our experiments are conducted on insects.' said the tour guide brightly, 'In previous years, research was conducted on animals but after animalistic quirks emerged in certain humans and animals themselves started developing quirks, albeit rarely, we chose to examine insects as they haven't evolved sufficiently in nature to develop quirks. Yet.'

'Ha!' barked out Bakugo, 'Did you hear that Deku? Sounds like you and these bugs have something in common.'

Izuku grimaced for a moment before forcing himself to smile slightly as his classmates laughed at him. Deku was Bakugo's mocking nickname for him. It meant useless and defenceless. He hated the name, but over the years he had gotten used to it. Nowadays everyone called him Deku, even some of the teachers at his school.

The tour guide waited for Mr. Tamanegi to rein in his students before continuing.

'The insects that you see in these glass cases have all been modified with artificially cultivated quirks, allowing us to-'

'What?' Izuku shouted, almost dropping his notebook, 'Did you say you were able to give something a quirk?'

'Midoriya, I warned you-' growled Mr. Tamanegi before the tour guide interrupted him.

'No, no. It's fine.' she said to the teacher before addressing Izuku, 'Yes, we have been able to artificially stimulate quirks, but there are a few issues. The first being that we are years from human testing. Relative to humans, insects breed and mature rapidly meaning that we can more easily study the effects of genetic changes in a population. Humans mature more slowly and are much more complex genetically and so modifying the human genome is exponentially more difficult.'

Izuku nodded, his heart sinking a little.

'The second issue is that these insects are, for all intents and purposes, brain dead. Or they would be if they had a higher functioning brain such as ours. See how docile they are?'

The class turned and looked at the insects. They were all sitting still in their glass enclosures, unmoving.

'When we first started experimenting with quirk manifestation, we soon discovered that the subjects lost all agency in their own biological priorities and they would essentially die from starvation as their quirks activated. To combat this, all of the insects here have far more nervous tissue. It helps them cope with all their quirks.'

'These insects have multiple quirks?' asked Izuku incredulously.

'Yes.' responded the tour guide happily, 'It was a milestone in Dr. Akatani's research into quirk manifestation.'

Izuku scratched his head.

_Dr. Akatani is the quirk specialist that Mom took me to when I was a kid. I didn't know he worked here…_

'With the extra nervous tissue, the insects are able to be active for about twenty or so minutes over the course of the day. In between these periods of activity, they lie and rest.' The tour guide moved away from the insect tanks.

'Anyway, if there are no more questions…?'

Izuku opened his mouth, but quickly shut it upon noticing the dirty look Mr. Tamanegi was giving him. He gulped and averted his gaze.

'Then our next stop will be the Quirk Sequencing Lab. There you can all examine your own quirks and see the sequence it comprises in your DNA! Isn't that neat?'

The class mumbled again, before turning back to their phones.

As Izuku's classmates started to shuffle away from the display cases Izuku found that he couldn't move. Somewhere within the small multicoloured insects was the answers to all his life's problems.

_Quirk manifestation! But at the cost of near total brain death. Maybe in a few years time-_

'Midoriya! What did I tell you about goofing off!'

With a yelp, he hastily rejoined the group.

* * *

Izuku stood off to the side as his classmates waited in line at the quirk sequencing machine. After a small sample of blood, the machine would go through a series of calculations and a graphic would appear informing them of the exact sequence of DNA that comprised their quirk.

Though his classmates looked like they couldn't care less, he would have given anything to sit in that machine and be told he had a quirk, but all he could do was watch with envy as everyone was told what made them exceptional, unique, before they turned back to their smartphones.

 _It just isn't fair._ He thought bitterly, peeling his eyes away.

Looking back to his teacher, he spotted Mr. Tamanegi doing his best to flirt with the tour guide, her smile slowly waning as she rebuffed his clumsy banter.

_I wish I could have gotten a closer look at those insects. I wonder how they figured out how to impart multiple quirks? Maybe I could get an appointment with Dr. Akatani and…and…_

Izuku shook his head and cleared his throat. His eyes started to well up as he felt a wave of hopelessness wash over him. In less than a year his class would be graduating from junior high and moving on to high school and high school was the deadline to apply to one of the hero programs. He had the highest grades in his entire school, but without a quirk it was pointless to even try.

Sniffling, he shielded his face with his hand and turned away from his class.

_Get a grip Midoriya! If Kacchan catches you crying you'll really be in for it. They'll be here for a while. I should go to the washroom and wash my face._

Moving away from his classmates, he walked outside the room and into the hall. As he headed towards the restroom, he spotted a man in a lab coat pushing a cart with an insect tank out of the Hot Labs. He stopped and watched as the cart rattled through one of the opened hazard doors. Curious, he moved over to the yellow marked doorway. What was the harm in a looking?

Peering inside, he saw nothing but an empty hallway, abandoned save for the insect cart. The scientist was nowhere to be seen. He hesitated at the doors threshold, the tips of his shoes toeing the hazard paint.

_If I'm caught in one of the restricted areas Mr. Tamanegi will go ape shit. But if I only take a peek-'_

'What are you doing, Deku-Shit?'

Izuku nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of the voice. Spinning around, he saw Bakugo and his two cronies standing right behind him!

'Ka-Kacchan.' he stuttered, reflexively using his old childhood nickname for the blonde back when they were friends, 'What are yo-'

'I told you to never call me that!' the blonde snarled, 'Call me Bakugo.' he put his hand on Izuku's shoulder. Izuku flinched at his touch.

'S-Sorry I was just-'

'What have we here?' Bakugo said looking past him, 'Trying to steal a look at the mutant bug? Feeling jealous, Deku?'

'No! I-I-'

'Here, lets go for a closer look.' Bakugo started walking, pulling Izuku with him past the yellow hazard markings and through the doorway. Bakugo's two drones followed, chortling as Izuku gave up his fruitless struggle.

'May-Maybe we shouldn't be in here. We could get in trouble.' he said as Bakugo hauled him closer to the cart.

'No shit dumbass. We're in a restricted area. Quit being so retarded, Deku.'

'B-but-' his protests fell on deaf ears as he was pushed in front of the case.

Despite himself, Izuku couldn't help but look inside the case. Inside was a motionless blue and red spider about the size of his thumb. Its dully shining eyes seemed lifeless and if he didn't know any better he would have assumed it was a toy.

'Why's it blue and red? Must be side effect of the quirk modification or something.' Bakugo said absently, 'I doubt those colours are natural…'

Izuku's curiosity got the better of him and he inched closer to get a better view.

_If they could do this with genetic engineering then maybe there is hope for me after all. I mean, stranger things have happened right?_

'I wonder how they did it?' Izuku wondered aloud, 'If they can modify insects then-'

As he leaned in closer he was suddenly knocked forward. Lurching off balance he went crashing into the cart. It was all he could do but watch helplessly as the trolley fell over sideways, the glass case cracking against the tile floor.

'Hey! I-' but before he could say another word he felt his legs get kicked out from under him. Collapsing next to the case, Izuku looked up at his tormentor. Bakugo stood over him a furious look on his face.

'Don't think for a second that you'll magically get powers from this place, Deku! Just because they made some mutant freak doesn't mean they can do shit for you.'

'Bu-Bu-But-' he stammered, trying to keep from crying.

'But what, Deku? You think they can inject you with some serum and you'll get a quirk in time for high school? Stop fantasizing about being something you're not and learn your place!'

At that Bakugo stormed off, his two flunkies in tow, laughing to themselves.

Izuku stayed on the floor as they left. Tears falling down his face.

'D-Damn it.' he said, looking over at his spilled notes. Everything he had written, everything the tour guide had said and given him hope seemed so stupid now.

Wiping his face on his sleeve, he made to gather his notes. But before he could move he suddenly felt a sharp pain on the back of his neck. With a muted shout, he reflexively slapped behind him. His hand suddenly felt wet.

_Oh, no. No, no, no…_

Drawing his hand back to his face, Izuku looked on in horror as he saw a blue and red smear in the palm of his hand.

* * *

Doing his best to appear innocent, Izuku carefully blended back into the cluster of students. Trying as he might though he couldn't help but fidget uncomfortably. His mouth was as dry as scorched sand and he felt a cold sweat breaking across his body.

_Any second now that cart is going to be discovered, and when it is I guarantee that Mr. Tamanegi will accuse me first. Proof or no proof I'll be taking the blame. Oh, Kacchan! What did you do?_

As Izuku panicked the tour guide finally managed to extract herself from the "charms" of his lecherous teacher.

'Did everyone have a chance to get their quirks analyzed?' the tour guide asked, moving back in front of the group.

'Yes.' chorused the class emotionlessly.

'Good, now if you'll follow me I can take you to see our chemistry labs! Neato, huh? Sadly, you won't be permitted into the labs themselves, but we have an observation area that you can enter.'

Izuku shakily stepped forward, anxious to put some distance between himself and the broken spider case. Walking at a torturously slow pace, the group plodded after the tour guide as she led them up a small set of stairs and into a viewing gallery.

The gallery consisted of little more than a few rows of chairs lined up in front of a floor to ceiling window overlooking a counter filled room. Inside, white coated scientists were hard at work swirling beakers and fiddling with various instruments as they conducted their research. But Izuku didn't care about any of that. Upon entering, he gratefully slumped down in one of the chairs. Under normal circumstances, he would have been over the moon to see such an impressive nerve centre of scientific brilliance, but right now he was just concentrating on not throwing up.

'This is our primary laboratory. Here we've made several breakthroughs in genetics, including the quirk development formula. Right now, the science team is hard at work creating a new formula in the hopes that it will one day be used to help those with unstable, dangerous quirks.'

'Midoriya! Pay attention!' Mr. Tamanegi called out, seemingly oblivious to the half dozen students who were busily texting on their phones.

With difficulty, he lifted his head. The lights in the room seemed very bright.

'Can anyone tell me what the primary source of accidental injury in Japan is?' asked the tour guide happily, 'No? Anyone?'

'Improper use of a quirk.' said a voice from the doorway. A few students turned to look at the newcomer.

'Ah! Everyone, this is Dr. Akatani. He is the senior researcher here at the Quirk Research Institute and is the leading mind in the field of quirk research!'

Izuku lolled his head to the side. Standing at the entrance to the observation theatre was the doctor his mother had taken him to several years ago. He was bald, slightly overweight and wore thick glasses. His expression was relaxed yet Izuku noticed his eyes pass over every one of the students. His eyes lingered over Izuku for a moment before shifting back to the tour guide.

'You flatter me Dr. Motoori. Though I am but one of many researchers in the field of quirk manifestation. So, how is everyone enjoying the tour?'

The students murmured indistinctly in response.

'Excellent. It's inspiring for all of us to see a crop of fresh young minds considering the possibilities of the future.' said Dr. Akatani just as one of the student's phones started blaring a silly tune.

'So Doctor, how goes the research?' asked the tour guide.

Dr. Akatani's relaxed expression tensed slightly before he smiled.

'It is proceeding. Not as quickly as I would like, but proceeding all the same. Speaking of, there is an important series of deadlines that I expect my team to meet and they require my supervision. Please, pretend I'm not here.'

'Of course, sir. Now who here can tell me-'

As the tour guide spoke, Izuku watched Dr. Akatani navigate around the room before sitting somewhere behind him. Izuku was tempted to look over his shoulder but he felt a fresh wave of nausea wash over him and he quickly concentrated on controlling his breathing.

_This is more than nerves. That spider. It had to have been that spider._

His strength waning, he dropped his head in his hands as he felt his eyes start to burn. He could hardly see his own lap. After several minutes of agony, the tour guide finally announced that she would be leading them back to the entrance. At a snail's pace he shambled after his classmates while they meandered their way back to the entranceway and the waiting bus.

Sitting in the back, he rested his throbbing head on the glass and tried to ignore his loud classmates. It was going to be a long drive from Tokyo to Musutafu.

* * *

Tokyo may be the capital of Japan, but Musutafu was where everyone wanted to live. A gleaming symbol of progress, it was the cultural and economic centre of the country. As Japan's fastest growing and largest city, its undeniable energy attracted people from all walks of life. Fiercely competitive, only the exceptional rose to the top, and in a society where superpowered beings were the norm, the exceptional had to be special indeed.

Of course, not everyone could be a success and Musutafu had its share of problems, poverty chief among them. With a large percentage of the population unemployed, many turned to crime and the slums of the city were truly dangerous. To make matters worse, the most dastardly and ambitious of these criminals might even turn to a life of supervillainy. Honing their quirks through deadly combat, these villains would take and do as they pleased if not for the constant efforts of the pro heroes.

However, for once the battle between good and evil couldn't have been further from Izuku's mind. After an agonizing, vomit filled commute home, he stumbled into the small but comfortable apartment that he, his mother, and perpetually absent father called home. Letting his backpack and notebook slide to the floor, he sluggishly lurched across the shared dining and living area towards his room.

'Izuku? Honey, how was the field trip?' called out his mother, Inko Midoriya, cheerily from the kitchen.

'Is…okay.' he said weakly, wiping a thin trail of drool from his mouth as he passed her back.

'Good. Well supper is ready when you are.' she said over her shoulder.

'M'kay.'

Stumbling past her, he went for the doorknob to his room. After fumbling for a bit, he finally worked the handle out and staggered inside. His small, clean room was filled to bursting with All Might paraphernalia. Lining every shelf were dozens of red and blue All Might figurines in a variety of poses and costumes and tacked on each wall were large posters of the smiling muscle-bound hero, famous slogans printed around their frame.

_I hope I don't throw up over all of my merch._

Pushing the door shut with his foot, Izuku let himself collapse back into his bed. Shivering violently, he pulled the covers over his head and quickly lost consciousness.


	2. A Weird Day

'Ah-Hah! I am here! To wake you up! Ah-Hah! I am here! To wake you up! Ah-Hah!-'

With a groan Izuku reached over from under his covers and swatted his alarm clock.

_What a horrible night._

He felt like his body had been run over repeatedly by a steam roller. Every inch of him was tense like it had been crushed, poured into a mold, then hardened. He wasn't sore exactly, but he felt extremely tense. Like a rubber band pulled as far as it could go without snapping.

All through the night he had bizarre nightmares with leering, swirling faces. Bakugo, Mr. Tamanegi, All Might and his old doctor Dr. Akatani would gather around him and gibber nonsense while he writhed beneath them, his body covered with spiders.

As he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, he heard his stomach growl loudly. He had never felt so hungry in his life. Reluctantly, he pulled the covers back and looked over at his nightstand to check the time but his clock was missing.

_Where's my clock? I must have knocked it under my bed. Hopefully I didn't damage it, they don't make those All Might Wakey-Wakey clocks anymore._

Sitting up, Izuku eyes passed over his wall and his mouth dropped open. Embedded in the wall were the shattered remains of his prized collectors' clock. He sat motionless as he tried to comprehend what he had done. After a second of mute horror he threw his hands over his face and rocked his head from side to side.

'Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Well there goes twenty thousand yen, if I can find another one!' he moaned.

As he beat his head with his fists, he suddenly heard his mother's voice outside his door. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and felt his skin crawl at the sound.

'Izuku? A-Are you okay?' she said softly, 'Can I come in?'

'Uh, yeah. I mean no! I mean…I'm fine! Uh, how are you?' he said, jumping out of bed so he could survey the damage to his wall. The clock was lodged so deep it almost burst through the other side!

_Mom is going to be so pissed!_

'Um, I'm okay. Did you drop something? I thought I heard a crash…'

'Nope! No, I think you must have heard…those damn neighbours! Always dropping…things. Damn them!' he said as he quickly pulled the metal debris out of the wall.

'Hm. Well come and eat your breakfast. You must be starving.'

He relaxed as he heard his mother's footsteps retreat. Once she had gone, he looked down at the destroyed clock in his hands and let out a mournful sigh.

_If I'm lucky I can get some drywall mix on my way home after school. Maybe I can fix my wall before Mom notices. But…my clock though. I might be able to get it working again, but I can't do anything about the destroyed casing. Damn it!_

Running his hand through his hair, he looked at himself in his mirror paned closet door. He was still wearing his school uniform from the field trip, though it was now covered in creases and sweat stains from his rough night.

Cursing his luck, he grabbed his towel and spare school uniform. Entering the washroom, he started to run the shower. He barely noticed the water hit his skin as he thought about his destroyed clock.

_The only places that might carry another "Wakey-Wakey I Am Here" clock are those weird collector stores downtown. No doubt they'll charge me an arm and a leg for it too._

He felt his stomach growl again and a pang of hunger ran through his gut. After rinsing himself off, he quickly pulled on his fresh plain black school uniform and exited the steam filled bathroom. Walking over to the kitchen he spotted his short, plump, green haired mother sitting at the kitchen table.

As usual, she had the morning newspaper folded in front of her, her coffee stirring itself, while she tisked disapprovingly at the latest rumoured escapades of their scoundrel mayor and his staff.

'Morning.' he said as he walked over to the fridge.

'Mmm.' she replied, turning the page.

Opening the fridge door, he considered his options.

_What have we got? Leftovers and fruit juice. Not much but it's a start anyway._

Grabbing the juice, he saw a large Tupperware container filled with yesterdays supper of miso soup and tofu. Plucking it up with his other hand he turned and closed the fridge door with a nudge of his hip. Sitting across from his mother, he wasted no time and immediately began to guzzle down the cold soup straight from the container. His mother lowered her paper and looked at him in surprise.

'D-Do you want me to warm that up for you?' she asked.

He shook his head as he continued to gulp down his meal. After a few seconds he finished draining the container. Without skipping a beat, he lifted the pitcher of juice and chugged it as well. Once the jug was empty he set it down on the table and burped loudly. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he looked across the table at his stunned mother.

'Excuse me. So, what are you making for breakfast? Eggs? Can I have three please?'

* * *

Izuku had a bounce in his step as he made his way towards school. After eating half the fridge, he was feeling much better. Truthfully, he was still feeling a little peckish but his mother was shocked enough by his appetite as it was. In light of his extra-large breakfast she had vowed to go grocery shopping that afternoon to restock. Hopefully while she was gone he would have the opportunity to repair his wall before she noticed anything. Thankfully the hole would be covered by his bedroom door if his mother went snooping.

As he walked, he whistled to himself merrily. Despite his rough start, he couldn't remember the last time he felt so good. Normally in the mornings he was quite groggy, but today he felt bursting with energy. His walking pace felt unusually slow and for the first time in a long time he was seriously considering running to school. Before be could make up his mind he felt a slight thrill of energy run down his spin. Glancing to his side, he saw his once best friend Bakugo storm out of his house. Slamming the door shut behind him. He spotted Izuku and scowled.

_Here we go._ Thought Izuku, his smile fading. _I should have run when I had the chance._

'Hey Deku-Shit, still sick from yesterday?' Bakugo jeered as he caught up with him.

'Good morning, Kacchan.' Izuku said with false cheerfulness.

Bakugo scowled, 'How many times do I have to tell you retard? Don't call me Kacchan! It's BA-KU-GO! Bakugo!'

Before Izuku could say anything, a woman's voice called out.

'Hey, Kacchan!'

Izuku and Bakugo turned. Standing at the doorway was a blonde woman in a white housecoat, a sliver of her bare leg was just visible through her robe. Holding her robe closed with one hand, she held up a backpack in the other. She had a faintly amused expression on her face, one eyebrow raised as she looked at the pair. Without a word, Bakugo stomped off towards the woman, muttering angrily under his breath.

Izuku's breath caught in his throat and he felt a slight heat build up from under his shirt collar. You could say many things about Bakugo, but his mom Mitsuki was a babe. And she knew he knew it. Or at least, that's what he desperately believed anyway.

As Bakugo stalked away from him towards her, Izuku was struck with divine providence.

'Good morning Mrs. Bakugo!' he called out, waving frantically.

'Good morning Izuku, you're looking particularly handsome today.' called out Mitsuki unclasping her hand so she could wave back, her robe parting just a tiny bit more.

'HEY!' shouted Bakugo, 'WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!'

'S-SEE YOU LATER MITSUKI! YOU LOOK GREAT TOO!' returned Izuku. Spinning around he fast walked down the street, ignoring the explosive argument that was beginning behind him.

_Particularly handsome._

* * *

Strutting into class, Izuku sauntered past his classmates and took his seat at the back. Unpacking his stuff, he got all his homework ready before he leaned back in his chair. His heart was still pounding from his encounter with Mitsuki.

_Bakugo is going to be pissed, but screw it. In ten months, I'll never have to see him again._

Humming softly, he pulled out his phone and began to browse while the room slowly started to fill with his classmates. Before long Mr. Tamanegi entered just as the tardy bell chimed, briefcase in one hand, cheap coffee in the other.

'Settle down, settle down.' Mr. Tamanegi said pre-emptively as he set his things down on his desk. Once he had unpacked, he took a lengthy and loud slurp of his beverage as he surveyed his kingdom. The class quieted and waited.

'Well yesterday was a disaster.' he declared, nodding to himself, 'Yeah, a real disaster. Idiots, all of you. Oh, and speaking of which; Kunie, Okichi, Ruriko, Kadonomaro, if I see you using your cell phones again, I will personally drop them in the third graders aquarium. Do you understand me?'

The four dutifully hung their heads in shame, though Izuku couldn't help but notice that Ruriko was still texting underneath her desk.

'Midoriya, what were you doing yesterday? You get food poisoning or something? Are you trying to make me look like a jackass out there?'

He snapped his eyes back to his teacher.

'Sorry boss, I must have caught the bug that was going around.'

Mr. Tamanegi frowned before he continued, 'Another toe out of line and I swear I'll have you in detention for the next week, we clear?'

'Aye-aye skip, crystal clear.'

Mr. Tamanegi's temple pulsed dangerously before turning back to the blackboard.

'So everyone pull out your-'

'So how'd it go with that girl yesterday?' Izuku asked before he could stop himself.

Mr. Tamanegi slowly turned around, death written on his face.

'Excuse me?' he said in a deadly soft voice, the rest of the class looked at Izuku with a mixture of disbelief and awe. He never pushed the teacher's buttons.

'Dr. Motoori, the tour guide. Was she biting?'

Mr. Tamanegi looked flustered as he started sputtering 'What? No! What has gotten into you Mid-'

'Oh, I'm sorry. Maybe next time.' Izuku said, nodding sympathetically.

'Midoriya! What I do in my own-'

At that moment Bakugo burst into the room and everyone swivelled in their seats to look at him. He must have ran as his uniform was even more dishevelled than usual.

'You're dead Deku! You hear me? Dead!' growled Bakugo, his hands raised menacingly. Izuku however was undisturbed.

'Kacchan! Didn't you hear the tardy bell? It rang over a minute ago! Mr. Tamanegi, surely you can show leniency for Kacchan's sake! He's such a good boy after all.'

Bakugo lowered his hands slightly and a small look of confusion passed over his face. Before he could say anything, Mr. Tamanegi intervened.

'Bakugo take your seat and please try to remember to straighten your uniform _before_ you come to class.'

Bakugo glared over at the teacher for a moment before stalking off to his chair directly behind Izuku. Setting his backpack down on the floor with a loud clump, he noisily sat. Izuku could feel Bakugo's hot breath on the back of his neck.

'Now the next person to disrupt my class will get detention do you understand?' the class mumbled in acknowledgement, 'Good. Now, will everyone please pull out their literature homework. I've a sneaking suspicion you've all been copying off each other…'

While Mr. Tamanegi was talking, Izuku sensed Bakugo move towards his ear.

'Get ready for gym class Deku, cause you're dead.' Bakugo whispered.

Izuku chuckled softly before he could stop himself.

'Gym class, right. I'll keep a sharp eye out for any rogue basketballs.' he muttered, snickering louder.

For some reason the whole situation seemed comically absurd. He knew it was no idle threat. In the past, Bakugo had beaten him up behind the bleachers. A few times actually. But for whatever reason, he just couldn't help but feel invincible.

_What's gotten into me?_ Thought Izuku with a slight tinge of worry as Bakugo seethed behind him.

* * *

The morning passed quickly and before he knew it, it was fourth period and gym class had at last arrived. After quickly changing into his gym uniform, Izuku walked out beyond the grassy fields and waited behind the baseball bleachers. Come hell or high water, he was not going down without a fight. Not this time.

In the past the idea of fighting back against Bakugo had seemed impossible. He had a few revenge fantasies, but to actually stand his ground and fight? Never. Not only did Bakugo have a massively powerful quirk (the ability to ignite his sweat and create explosions), but his body was toned and durable. By the time they were ten years old, Izuku knew that there wasn't a person in the school - student OR teacher - that could stand a chance against him.

Whether his new-found bravado was nerves or hormones Izuku couldn't say, but for some reason he didn't feel like rolling over any more. Standing beneath the shadowy bleachers, he felt his chest heave with emotion as he remembered his past beatings.

_I'm here Bakugo. Come get me._ He thought as a thrill of adrenaline caused his hands to tremble slightly.

He didn't have to wait long. Bursting from the school doors, he spotted Bakugo marching towards him, alone.

_He must be serious this time if he's leaving twiddly-dumb and twiddly-dumber behind._

As Bakugo approached, Izuku noticed that all the other students in his class had stopped playing and were covertly watching them. No doubt they had all heard that he was in for another beat down and they wanted to watch the fireworks. The thought made him swell with resentment for his classmates.

_Cowards. You're all cowards._

'Hey there, funny man.' Bakugo said, stopping a few feet from him.

'Hey.' He replied with what he hoped was a carefree grin though his heart was pounding, 'We doing this or what?'

'What's got up your ass, Deku? You tired of having a face or something?'

'Cut the preamble Bakugo, I thought you liked beating someone weaker than you?'

Bakugo narrowed his eyes as he appraised him. After a moment he spoke again.

'You know, I don't think I've ever seen you this pissed off. It's kind of refreshing to be honest with you.'

Izuku felt his heart race a little faster. Every muscle and nerve in his body seemed to be on fire. He had never felt so alive.

'Well, after what? Six years? Seven almost? Of you making my life hell. You can't say you didn't see me fighting back at least once.'

'Yeah, I guess your balls finally dropped but you're going to regret letting all that anger out, Deku.' Bakugo said, sneering as he raised his fists.

'The only thing I regret is saving your life.' Izuku returned, tensing himself. Bakugo's cocky smile instantly vanished to be replaced with an expression of pure rage.

Many years ago, when they were still in preschool, he had saved Bakugo from drowning. Bakugo had never gotten over it. He, the most powerful kid in the city, saved by the quirkless reject. It was a humiliation Izuku knew must have cut him deeply.

'YOU DIDN'T SAVE ME!' Bakugo roared.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl for Izuku as Bakugo opened his palm.

_Open palms! I didn't think Bakugo would lose control like this…he's really trying to get me this time!_

As the snarling blonde leveled his hand at him, Izuku felt his nerves spasm. Reflexively, he hopped to the side. To his surprise his small jump launched him over at great speed and a small puff of dust rose from where he had been standing. A split second later an explosion ripped out from Bakugo's hand and blew apart the ground where he had stood milliseconds before.

_What is this strength?_ Izuku thought in amazement as he flew through the air.

Izuku's jump carried him much further than he thought possible. Through the cloud of earth that Bakugo had kicked up with his explosion, he spotted the blonde boy's messy hair. Clenching his fist as tightly as he could, he sprinted towards him. Coming up on his left side, he drew his fist back. It felt massive and heavy to him. Unstoppable.

With a newly found terrible resolve, Izuku launched his fist forward. As it drew towards Bakugo's head, he looked into the boy's eyes. The expression on Bakugo's face wasn't the one he had been expecting. He hadn't noticed Izuku at his side yet. Instead he was focused on the ground he had just blasted. His eyes were wide with concern and fear and his mouth hung slightly open.

_Does he think he caught me in that explosion?_

Suddenly he remembered the fear in Bakugo's eyes all those years ago.

Twisting his arm upwards, he turned on his heel and pushed himself back, his fist barely missing Bakugo's face. Now off balance, Izuku fell over side ways. Landing on the ground with a huff, Bakugo whirled around and looked at him in surprise.

'Deku? Wha- how did you?'

Before either one of them could say or do anything further, the playground was swarmed by shouting teachers. The two boys barely looked at each other as they were hauled to the principal's office.

* * *

It was four-thirty by the time Izuku was allowed to leave school. To his amazement, he hadn't gotten in any trouble. Besides the dressing down for being reckless, they had let him go Scott-Free. Apparently, while he was preparing for his faceoff with Bakugo one of his "cowardly" classmates had went to one of the teachers and they were able to stop the fight before it escalated.

It was a weird feeling to not be immediately jumped on by everyone. Usually the staff bent over backwards to ensure that Bakugo didn't get in any trouble lest his chances of being admitted to the hero program at UA, the top hero school in the country, be jeopardized but apparently the explosion he had unleashed in the school yard was serious enough that they figured he needed a wake-up call. As Izuku was a shy, quirkless, nobody and Bakugo's bullying was a well-known facet at the school, in a rare display of justice Bakugo was suspended.

Walking away from the school in a daze, Izuku vaguely remembered needing to buy drywall mix and paint to fix up his room. Heading over to the train station he considered what had happened.

_I'm definitely not acting like myself. I can't believe I said those things to Kacchan. I said I regretted saving his life! What kind of attitude is that? And my classmates aren't cowards either. Until today I've never been able to stand up to Kacchan too._

As he remembered the fight he thought about his movements.

_Ever since I was bit by that spider, my body has been feeling…strange. How did I dodge that explosion? I've always been one of the slowest kids in class._

He looked down at his legs. He hadn't noticed anything strange about his body that morning in the shower. But then again, he had been so hungry he hadn't really been paying any attention. And during gym class he had been so excited he had changed as fast as he could.

_I need to check myself out. Something weird is definitely happening with my body._

Coming up on the hardware store, he bought some drywall mix and blue paint. When he returned to his apartment, he was relieved to see that his mother was still out shopping. After repairing the hole, he turned to the mirror and looked at himself.

_Time to see what's changed._

* * *

Taking off his shirt, Izuku looked at his reflection and his jaw dropped in amazement. His once soft, flabby frame had been completely transformed. He looked like he didn't have an ounce of fat on his body and he was covered in muscle.

_How is this possible?_ Izuku wondered as he pinched around his abs, unable to find any fat whatsoever.

As he felt around his abdomen he heard his stomach growling loudly again.

_My metabolism must be going haywire! But what could have triggered this sudden musculature? I don't work out. Pretty much all I do is sit at my computer all day. Is it possible that I've manifested a quirk? That's the only explanation!_

Izuku felt a well of excitement pulse through his body as he stood in front of his mirror. Laughing, he spun around. His many All Might figurines grinning at him.

_If I have a quirk then that means I can be a hero! I can go to UA! I can, just, like…_

'Guagh!' he exclaimed, falling back on the floor. It was all too much. Looking up at the ceiling, he forced himself to take a few calming deep breaths.

_How did this happen? I was genetically predisposed to not develop a quirk! The doctor said it was impossible. This should be impossible! This all started with that spider bite, I'm sure of it. But how could that trigger a quirk?_

Reaching around, he pressed his hand over the back of his neck where he had felt the spider the day before. Just above his shoulder he felt a small bump. Keeping his hand on the spot, he stood up and craned his head over his shoulder towards his mirrored closet. In the reflection he saw a small, purplish blemish.

_There you are._

Walking over to his school things, he retrieved his smart phone and took a picture of the bite mark. Looking at his phone, he studied the image.

The mark was coin sized, and slightly swollen. In the center of the small bump there were two tiny scabbed over wounds.

_This doesn't tell me anything. I don't know enough about spiders. But quirks though…_

Apart from following the world of pro heroes religiously, Izuku spent most of his free time researching quirks. In particular quirk manifestation. In his desperation, he had read all the theories about where quirks had come from and how they formed. There were a few plausible ideas floating around, but nobody was sure what triggered them. All anyone really knew was that it was genetic. Children carried similar quirks to their parents and they could morph and change between generations, occasionally hybridizing into something new. Some people were even born with two quirks, though they were exceptionally rare.

Walking over to his computer, Izuku went to the Quirk Research Institute website. Quickly scrolling through, he read all the available information of their quirk manifestation research in insects. Unfortunately, the website largely just repeated what he had heard on the tour. Premutated insects that acted as genetic blanks were given a specially developed serum before they hatched which led to them developing a multitude of different quirks.

Izuku drummed his fingers over his desk as he considered the information.

_If I somehow inherited a quirk from that spider what quirk did I receive? Enhanced strength? Enhanced reflexes? Maybe speed? I need some answers, I don't want to risk walking around with some unknown quirk._

These days, it was illegal for people to use their quirks outside of specific circumstances and for good reason. Beyond the omnipresent threat of terrorism and supervillains, many people had the capacity to cause widespread destruction if they used their quirk indiscriminately. To combat this, the government reacted with harsh punishments to those that used their quirks for personal reasons, especially if their quirk was particularly destructive or powerful. Only pro heroes were given license to use their quirks freely and even then, they did so only to stop criminals and villains. For the most part anyway. Some people, like his mother, could use their quirks within their homes or workplace so long as they were certified by a quirk specialist.

At that Izuku suddenly remembered Dr. Akatani.

_Maybe I should go see Dr. Akatani! I bet you he would have some information for me. But the Quirk Research Institute is all the way in Tokyo though…_

He checked his clock. It was almost seven.

_He probably went home. I can go check the place out after school tomorrow. I'll need to distract Mom somehow though…Wait. Where's Mom? She should be back by now._

Izuku felt the small of his back start to tingle slightly. Standing, he exited his room and walked over to the shared living and dining area.

_Why do I feel so nervous all of a sudden? Why isn't Mom home yet?_

Anxiety rising, he quickly turned on the television and navigated to the disaster alert channel. He felt a cold ball of ice form in his stomach as he saw that there was a villain attack in progress near the shopping district that his mother frequented.

The camera showed a street in ruins. Cars were overturned and burning, a store front lay in ruins and multiple heroes and civilians were strewn across the road, unmoving. As a disaster response reporter narrated the scene below from her helicopter, Izuku felt himself begin to hyperventilate.

_Should I go out there? It's a twenty-minute trip by train. I'd never make it in time!_

Izuku watched as the camera panned over to the rampaging villain. Even for a society filled with strange, super powered beings the villain was an oddity. He looked like a giant gelatinous ooze. His translucent green body was roiling and deforming as he battled several small figures around him. The fight wasn't going well. The heroes that were attacking him were immediately repulsed and tossed aside by his tentacles, their attacks seemingly having no effect.

'And Kamui Woods has been pushed back!' cried the reporter, 'It looks like he'll have to retreat as his traps have little to no effect! If this keeps up then…wait a minute. Wait a minute! All Might has arrived!'

Izuku cheered as he saw his idol arrive. Now that All Might was there, the villain was toast.

He watched as All Might, flashing his characteristic smile to the camera, rushed forward and engaged the villain. Before the sludge villain could react, All Might landed a massive Sunday punch, blowing him apart into wriggling pieces.

'Yes!' Izuku shouted, fist raised in triumph to match the pose of All Might.

Flashing another smile, All Might dashed away. No doubt rushing off to save some other person in need.

Izuku smiled, as the reporter shouted incredulously.

_All it took was one punch. Time and time again, All Might proves that he's the strongest, no question._

As Izuku kept watching the television though he felt his rush of excitement slowly fade back to worry. Picking up his phone he saw that he had no messages, as usual.

_Come on Mom. Send me a text or something._

He kept his eyes glued to the television as the camera panned over the devastation in the streets. Emergency services had moved into the area and were treating the wounded. He waited, looking for any sign of his mother amongst the crowds.

As he sat glued to the screen, the door to the apartment opened.

'Izuku? I'm home. Come help me with these groceries.'

'Mom!' Izuku cried, jumping up out of the couch and running over to her. Grabbing her, he pulled her in for a tight hug.

'Ack! Iz-Izuku…you…are…crushing…me!' she squeaked.

''S-Sorry!' he said, stifling a sob as he pulled back, 'Why didn't you call me? I thought you were caught up in the villain attack!' he shouted angrily.

'Oh, I forgot to charge my phone again.' she said sheepishly. Izuku scoffed and rolled his eyes, 'Anyway, come grab up these groceries for me.'

Izuku scooped up the bags and followed his mother into the kitchen.

'Plug your phone in before you forget Mom! What if there was an emergency?'

'I know, I know. Gee, when did my little guy get so strong?' she said reaching over to feel his arm.

'Cut it out, Mom.' he said, blushing as he dodged around her.

She sighed as he moved away, 'My little cinnamon bun is growing up so fast. Soon you'll be in high school and you'll have a girlfriend and then be moving out…' Izuku blanched as his mother started to sniffle.

'H-Hey, why don't we make some supper? I'm really hungry.' he said quickly. His mother was prone to emotional outbursts. And coming from him that meant something.

She sighed again then smiled, dabbing her eyes, 'Okay. How was school today?'

He froze. Running his hand through his hair he started laughing nervously, 'Well…'

Izuku explained what had happened between himself and Bakugo. His mother was in so much shock about the fight that he decided to leave out any mention of his new-found abilities lest she have a heart attack. In fact, she was so upset that she was even going to phone Mrs. Bakugo to complain. Thankfully he managed to convince her to let the matter slide. By the time they had at last settled the argument it was nearly midnight when he went to bed.

Izuku climbed into his bed and considered everything that had happened recently.

_I have to tell my mother about my quirk sooner or later. I wonder what its going to be like to get registered for a quirk? I don't even know what mine is yet. I wish I had some answers. Maybe I should schedule another appointment with Dr. Akatani? It seems like he isn't a pediatrician anymore though._

Before he knew it he suddenly broke out grinning.

_I have a quirk! Not just any quirk but a powerful one too! I can be a hero, just like All Might!_

Sighing happily, he flicked his light switch but to his surprise his room still seemed brightly lit. Frowning, he looked over at the lightbulbs in the centre of the room. They were definitely off.

_That's weird. It must be a bright night I guess._

Walking over to his window, he shut his curtain. However, he could still see around his room bright as day.

'What the hell?' he muttered. Walking over to his bed, he climbed underneath his covers. Throwing the sheets over his face, he could clearly see the red, blue, and white fabric. He threw his covers off.

_Night vision too? Back at the institute the tour guide said that the insects had multiple quirks. How many did that spider have? I really need to see Dr. Akatani._

Izuku's train of thought was interrupted by the faint sound of voices in the apartment above him.

'How can your quirk help you in retirement? Stay tuned, more after these messages.'

Izuku groaned and put his pillow over his head. The elderly couple living above him sometimes left their living room window open. Wedging himself against the wall he tried to get comfortable.

'Come on babe, it's my birthday.' whined a voice somewhere beneath him.

'Ugh, fine! But if this shows up on the internet, I'm going to kill you.'

Izuku felt his face go red as he couldn't help but hear the sounds coming from the apartment beneath him.

'Oh, come on. Super hearing too?' Izuku said incredulously. Jamming his fingers in his ears he settled in for a long night.

_Screw getting an appointment. After school tomorrow I'm heading down to the Quirk Research Institute to get some answers._ To his dismay the sounds beneath him got louder. _And I'm buying some earplugs too!_


	3. Unforeseen Malefactor

Returning to school after all the drama yesterday felt very strange. Bakugo had been suspended for a whole week and the rest of the class was unsure of how to react. Although Izuku had always been Bakugo's favourite punching bag, he wasn't the only one forced to suffer his explosive temper. Without Bakugo in the class, there was no one crowding them during lunch or criticizing someone for dropping something or insulting someone for answering a question wrong. It definitely felt weird to not be on edge all the time.

After Izuku texted his mother that he was going to stay after school for a while to finish an important assignment, he covertly boarded the train to Tokyo.

_I'm sure I can get some answers at the Quirk Research Institute. I'll ask if I can see Dr. Akatani. If I tell him it was all an accident, I'm sure he'll be willing to look past me crushing the spider considering how big of a discovery this might be._ Thought Izuku as the countryside whipped past.

A few hours later the high-speed train entered the downtown Tokyo station and Izuku disembarked. Moving through the crowds of people on the side walk, he walked from the station and up to the glass fronted building. Approaching the glass door, he pulled on the brass handle but it was locked.

_Strange. I can see people in there._

Looking through the glass and towards the security checkpoint by the entranceway, he gestured towards one of the guards. The bored looking, blue uniformed man dropped his newspaper and pressed a button on his desk.

'Yes?' came the man's voice through an intercom next to the doorway.

'Uh, Hi.’ Izuku said, leaning in to the intercom box, ‘Can I come in? I was hoping to meet with someone.'

'Sorry. The premises are closed to authorized personnel only until further notice. If you'd like I can page the person you want to speak to. Who're you here to see?'

'Oh. Um, I was wanting to talk to Dr. Akatani?'

_I hope I'm not wasting everyone's time. He probably has no clue who I am even!_

'Sorry, Dr. Akatani has just left for the day. You might be able to catch him in the parking lot if you hurry.'

'Okay, thanks!'

Running off in the direction of the parking lot, Izuku felt butterflies in his stomach as he thought about what to say.

_Hello Dr. Akatani my name is Izuku Midoriya from Musutafu. I was at your tour the other day and I was bitten by one of your quirk modified spiders and now I have super powers._

Izuku sighed. _He's probably going to think I'm nuts. I hope he gives me a chance to explain myself at least._

When his mom had taken him to see Dr. Akatani a few years ago the doctor had been very blunt with him. There was a very simple test to determine if an individual possessed a quirk or not. If their pinky toe had one joint, then they had a quirk. Izuku had two joints in his toe and so Dr. Akatani had told him in no uncertain terms that he would never develop a quirk. He had been registered in the national registry as being quirkless that very day.

_Let's hope he's more patient nowadays._

He rounded the corner of the building. In the centre of the parking lot, Izuku spotted the glare of the sun gleaming off of a man's bald head. As he got closer, he recognized the voice of the man as belonging to Dr. Akatani.

'No, we have not. Our containment procedures have been activated however.' Dr. Akatani said to the person on the other end of the phone.

Izuku's ears perked up. Ducking down behind a car, he crouch walked closer.

_Where's the harm in me eavesdropping a little?_

Moving to the car parked beside Dr. Akatani, Izuku strained himself to listen to the conversation.

* * *

A half hour earlier while Izuku was still on his way to the Quirk Research Institute, Dr. Akatani was at his desk, scowling at his computer screen. If they didn't locate the latest generation arachnid specimen soon, heads would roll. Besides being the cumulation of his research team's expertise over the past twenty years, that tiny spider alone represented a tax-payer investment of over seventy-eight billion yen.

Exactly how the spider had managed to escape from its containment unit was a mystery. Dr. Bukiyō had sworn that when he returned to the cart after his call, he had found it tipped over, it's glass enclosure shattered. With its enhanced physical attributes, it was possible that the spider had been able to free itself, though Dr. Akatani thought that was unlikely. What was likely was that Dr. Bukiyō's would be headed back to the private sector soon and unless that spider was found, he would be joining him.

From the light fixtures to the toilets, the entire staff had been on their hands and knees looking for the little bastard but to no avail. He had no choice but to alert his superiors that a specimen had escaped.

_Twenty years of hard work. A career of scrounging and endless service. All the sacrifices, undone in an instant. And I was so close!_

For his entire life, he had dreamed about being the one to create the first quirks. Having no quirk himself, he would stand by his classmates, notebook in hand, and record everything he could about their abilities and how they worked. As time passed his curiosity grew even stronger and he made a career of understanding and predicting quirk development.

His work proved to be invaluable to the government as they were just as interested as he was in controlling the development of quirks in their citizens. They wanted a means to be able to predict and eliminate potentially dangerous abilities in children before they cold manifest and present a problem to society. A bit authoritarian for his taste, but he didn't care. As long as they paid the bills and gave him access to human test subjects they could do whatever they wanted with his research.

As Dr. Akatani considered his situation, he remembered the earlier setbacks with the program. Twenty years ago, he had been given access to the prisoners of Tartarus for human testing. None of his subjects had survived and as a result of his lack of progress he was ordered to change his experimentation to animal subjects. Then because of the damn Humane Treatment of Animals Resolution he had been forced to switch to insects. Still even with these limitations they had made progress.

In the past four years he had learned that in order to manifest a quirk in a subject, you first needed to have a genetic blank, a quirkless subject that could act as an empty canvass upon which you could forcibly trigger the evolutionary leap. The change often had unintended side effects however. Even in insects the results had been horrific. The fatality rates amongst the earliest subjects was close to ninety percent. But of the ten percent that survived, he had been able to refine his quirk formula and achieve a fatality rate of merely fifty percent. The specimens were still brain dead but so what? It was damn impressive, even if the bureaucrats didn't understand it.

Dr. Akatani turned off his computer and stood from his desk. Any minute now he would get a phone call from some cretin in the government demanding he provide them with answers as to their investment. It was do or die time. With some creative thinking and a little luck, he would be able to salvage the program. He looked over at his clock. It was past six.

_I've been sitting here waiting for the axe to fall all day. If I must grovel, I might as well do so in the comfort of my own home._

Walking out of his office, he said farewell to his secretary before taking the elevator to the ground floor. Crossing the lobby, he exited the building and walked towards his car. Before he could reach his vehicle however his cell phone rang. He groaned.

Pulling out his phone, he saw it was the head of the funding committee to his program. This was it. Lowering his briefcase to the asphalt, he took a deep breath and answered the phone.

'Hello, Dr. Akatani speaking.'

'Dr. Akatani, this is Jūyō Sekkachi.' said a curt voice through the phone, 'I have reviewed your report. Needless to say, this is deeply disappointing to the board. Have you still not located the specimen?'

'No sir, we have not. Our containment procedures have been activated however.'

'As I understand it, this spider was given your nerve modification therapy and was mobile. Is it possible for it to have bitten anyone?'

'It is possible.' conceded Dr. Aratani, 'Though we would know if someone was bitten almost immediately.'

'Oh? If someone is injured from malpractice on your part Dr. Akatani there will be an inquiry.'

Dr. Akatani swelled indignantly for a moment before he regained control over his temper.

_I must avoid a confrontation at all costs if I want to continue my research._

'With respect Mr. Sekkachi sir, my staff are expertly trained. We know how to handle the specimens.'

'Tell me, what would happen if the specimen were to escape from the facility?'

'It would likely die.' Dr. Akatani said calmly, 'Despite its enhanced physical abilities and senses, outside of the laboratory environment the specimen cannot survive in the wild. It's required caloric intake coupled with its limited brain function means that it would be unable to sustain itself.'

'Would it attack people?'

'Sir, anything with a mouth can attack people. But for all of its genetic modification, it will still behave in the same manner as a spider. It is likely seeking a secluded, dark territory for itself in the Hot Labs as we speak.'

'How long can this spider survive outside its enclosure?'

Dr. Akatani grimaced. He knew that question was coming.

'About five days.'

'So, if the spider is not found in five days then you will need to be prepared to answer to the board as to the whereabouts of your nearly eighty-billion-yen, budgetary sinkhole.'

Dr. Akatani felt a scowl form on his face.

'Sir, if I may interject? That is not necessarily correct.' he said as calmly as he could.

'Oh? Explain.'

'The latest quirk manifestation formula that we had been developing was carried within that spider's DNA. If it were to interact with a quirkless individual it is possible that that person could manifest quirks for themselves. Though they would be in a vegetative state.'

'What are you saying? if someone without a quirk eats the spider they might get a quirk?'

'Or gets bitten.'

Sekkachi exhaled in frustration and Dr. Akatani felt his frustration build again. It was no secret that the head of the funding committee disliked him. Sekkachi had always loudly speculated that Dr. Akatani was more interested in his own goals rather than the government's interests.

'How many times must I tell you? We are interested in quirk removal, not quirk generation! I'll be honest with you doctor, I have questioned myself as to whether or not you were suitable to lead this program. Ever since the first human trials, your…enthusiasm for ethically grey research disturbed me greatly. But against my better judgement, I allowed you to continue because you were the top in your field. However, I see now that you are still as hell bent as ever on creating quirks in humans!'

Despite himself, Dr. Akatani felt himself go on the defensive.

'I-I have been over this with the budgetary committee many times. In order to curtail quirk manifestation, you must first understand how it is created!'

'You have had twenty years doctor. We need to see some progress.' Dr. Akatani was silent as Sekkachi sighed again. 'Assuming someone was bitten by your spider, what would happen?'

'If they were quirkless, then we might finally have a successfully manifested quirk event in a human being. Using that person's DNA, I would be able to determine precisely how the quirk is formed and devise a formula to remove quirks.'

'If they are quirkless.' Mr. Sekkachi repeated flatly, 'And what are the chances of that?'

Dr. Akatani swallowed, 'Approximately twenty percent.'

Sekkachi laughed bitterly. In truth the actual chances of a person without a quirk getting bitten by the spider were much lower. It was true that around one in five people currently alive were quirkless but once you factored in age and geographic location, the actual likelihood that someone without a quirk would be bitten in downtown Tokyo during business hours was practically zero as the majority of the quirkless population were elderly. Not to mention they would have to survive the mutation process itself.

'I see.' Sekkachi said in a tired voice, 'And how would you be able to find this person?'

'Why using the quirk registry of course. Nearly every quirkless person in the country has been registered. If a new quirk is manifested from the people on that list then I will be able to easily determine with a simple blood test if their quirks are a result of the spider specimen.'

'And then I suppose you will want that person for further experimentation?' Sekkachi asked warily.

'Naturally. In order to create a reliable formula, I will need to access their brain stem tissue. But one person is a small price to pay for civil order, no?'

Sekkachi was silent for a few moments. Dr. Akatani felt a lump form in his throat as the fate of his life's work was considered. Eventually Sekkachi spoke:

'You've already been funded until the end of the budgetary year. If during that time you do not recover the specimen or there are no anomalies with the quirkless population, your project will be shut down. Are we clear?'

'Yes, sir.' Dr. Akatani said, a massive load seemingly lifting from his shoulders.

At that he hung up and Dr. Akatani put his phone away. Taking his keys from his pocket, he entered his car.

_That went about as well as it could have. My career lives another day. I think this calls for a celebration._

Starting his car, he drove off. Completely oblivious to the green haired boy that had been hiding behind the SUV next to him.

* * *

Izuku slide down and lay against the wheel of the SUV as he processed what he had just heard.

_If they discover I have a quirk then their going to experiment on my brain? That can't be true. That's insane! I'm a Japanese citizen!_

As he considered the implications of what he just heard another horrible thought entered his mind.

_I was registered in the quirkless database! If I went to UA and signed up for the hero program and told them I have a quirk then the government will know! I can't…I can't ever let anyone know I have these powers…_

Izuku felt tears start to fall down his face as realization dawned on him.

_I'm going to have to go into hiding for the rest of my life! I'll never be a hero. Never be able to save anyone. It's not fair!_

Eventually he felt his back start to twitch. Wiping his face, he rose to his feet. Across the parking lot, he saw a man in a lab coat nearing his hiding spot. Fortunately, he was too preoccupied with his smart phone to notice him.

Still sniffling, Izuku crept away from the approaching scientist. Dodging between cars, he made his way to the sidewalk and joined the throngs of pedestrians. The teaming masses of business men and women were oblivious to his sobs as he walked towards the train station.

By the time he arrived back in Musutafu it was getting dark. After texting his Mom that he was going for a walk around the neighbourhood, Izuku considered his plight.

_I guess I can just go to a regular high school. With my grades I'm sure that any school would be happy to have me._

He picked up a can that was lying on the street and threw it over his back. Arching gracefully, it clattered into a distant recycling bin.

'Nice shot kid!' called out a man across the street. Izuku raised his hand in acknowledgment but otherwise ignored him.

_Even if I go to a regular school I'll have to be careful. I guess I can't ever get any bloodwork done. Or go to a hospital for whatever reason. If I do, then they'll know something is up when they analyze my blood. That guy said Dr. Akatani was going to be fired next fiscal year but I doubt the government will forget I exist. I'll need to live carefully from now on and avoid attracting attention._

'Someone, help!' shouted a voice from down the street. Izuku jerked his head up. About three blocks away he saw a man and woman standing beneath a tree, frantically looking around.

Without thinking, Izuku took off towards the two. Breezing past the stores and parked cars he skidded to a halt in front of the couple.

'What's wrong?' Izuku asked, heart pounding. The two turned to look at him.

'Our kid got himself stuck!' said the man, 'Quick, can you call 911? I don't have my phone on me.'

Izuku glanced up as he pulled out his phone. At the very top of the tree a baby was clinging to a thin branch, seemingly unconcerned with his predicament.

'Sure!' Izuku said as he dialed.

'911 what is your-'

At that moment the branch the baby was clinging to broke and the baby started to fall. As the parents called out in terror, Izuku dropped his phone and leaped. Moving upwards, he intercepted the infant, catching it gently in his arms. Falling, he landed neatly on his feet.

'Ah! That was amazing! Thank you, thank you, thank you!' cried the couple as they ran over to him. Passing the confused looking child to his mother's arms Izuku stepped back.

'That was incredible kid! You have a jumping quirk or something?' asked the man.

'Oh, uh, yeah. Yeah, I can jump real high.'

'Thanks!' said the man, turning to his child the man said 'What do we say Miko? Can you say "Thank you?" to the man?'

'Blueergh!' belched the baby.

* * *

After the couple had moved off, Izuku retrieved his phone from the sidewalk. His screen had cracked but at the moment he didn't care one bit. His whole life he had been waiting for a chance to help someone and right now he felt as good as when he first found out he had a quirk. Maybe even better.

Shaking his head in disbelief, he walked back towards his apartment. Unlocking the door, he stepped inside and took off his shoes. Before he could even walk out of the entranceway his mother suddenly appeared in front of him. A rare frown on her face.

'Izuku Midoriya! Where have you been?' she said, spatula raised threateningly.

'I-I was out for a walk.' stammered Izuku.

'And what time is it?'

'Um, nine thirty?'

'That's far too late for someone your age to be out! Izuku, I'm surprised at you! You know how dangerous the streets are at night!'

'I know Mom…'

'I was worried sick! You should have called!'

Izuku thought about pointing out the text messages he had left her explaining his whereabouts but he wisely chose to bite his tongue.

'Sorry, Mom. I must have lost track of time.'

His mother regarded him angrily for a moment before she stepped back.

'Well come in and eat your dinner. It's getting cold.'

Izuku followed his mother into the dining room and saw a small feast waiting for him. There was even a platter of Katsudon, his favourite!

'Seeing as how you've grown so much lately, I thought I'd better cook you something extra.' she said nonchalantly as he gawked at the veritable feast laid out before him.

"Aw, thanks Mom!' he said, grinning broadly as he dug into the meal. He was starved.

After spending some time with his mother watching television, Izuku retreated to his room and completed his homework. It wasn't due for another week but he liked to stay ahead. By the time he was finished all his work it was almost midnight again. Falling back into his bed, he considered his day.

_I might not ever be a pro hero, but I can still help people. Maybe there is a future for me after all._

After cramming some waded-up tissue paper in his ears, Izuku settled into his sheets and a few moments later he drifted off to sleep.


	4. Born and Raised in da Hood

Izuku woke to the sun streaming into his room. Yawning, he peered over at his nightstand to check the time before remembering that he had destroyed his clock. Muttering to himself, he reluctantly left the comfort of his bed and went over to his computer. The monitor told him that it was almost eleven in the morning.

_Geez, I must have been exhausted._

Stretching, he did his morning routine. After a quick shower and a late breakfast, he returned to his computer and went to his favourite website, the Hero Board. On this forum like minded nerds such as himself compiled anything and everything hero related, from Endeavour's latest battle to Mt. Lady's latest wardrobe malfunction.

Scrolling, he looked over the top-rated posts.

_All Might's battle against the Sludge Villain…Hawks broke up a street gang…hmm, what's this?_

The post was titled "Unknown Hero: Plz ID"

He clicked on the post and examined the image. His monitor displayed a somewhat blurry photo of a man wearing a heavy grey duster. A ski mask was pulled over his face to his mouth revealing a scarred chin peppered with stubble. In one hand he was pushing a terrified looking man up against the wall while in the other he was readying a punch.

He frowned at the picture before browsing through the comments. The consensus was that the image was of a vigilante, not a pro hero and he agreed. Almost every hero nowadays marketed themselves to the public in some way with glamour shots, revealing or flashy costumes or the like. Intentional anonymity amongst heroes was very uncommon. So whenever a picture of some unknown masked man or woman showed up it was always either a villain or a vigilante.

He backed out of the page. Vigilantes weren't his thing. There was this episode of All Might's cartoon where he remembered All Might say that people should trust in the justice system to sort out society's problems, not unaccountable vigilantes. Ever since then he had avoided the vigilante scene. Most of those people were crazy anyway. Every so often a villain would declare he had reformed and was a vigilante now or vice versa. There was too much drama.

After going through all the posts, he stood up. Normally in his free time he would watch YouTube, play computer games, or go hunting for more quirk information, but all that felt pointless now that he had quirks of his own.

_I want to go outside and do something. I still don't know the extent of my powers and I need to figure out exactly how they work so I can better control myself. God knows I can't turn to the government for help. Maybe I should go for a walk..._

On the rare occasions when he left his apartment, he would usually take a walk down by the beach. Hardly anyone ever went there. Grabbing his phone, wallet, and keys, he left his apartment and caught a bus headed for the coast side neighborhoods of Musutafu. 

* * *

'Man, what a dump.' Izuku muttered to himself softly as he surveyed the waterfront. The beach looked like a landfill. Rusted out appliances, bleached plastics, and rotting furniture was strewn across the sand, far as the eye could see. Besides the eyesore, the stinking air was filled with the sounds of hundreds of seagulls picking through the trash.

 _No wonder the beach is deserted._ He mused, stepping forward. As he walked, he suddenly felt the small of his back start tingling. Stopping in mid step, he looked at the sand where he was about to drop his foot. Barely visible, he saw something poking out. Curious, he wiped away the sand to reveal a sharp, rusty, piece of metal.

He reached down and pulled it out.

 _How did I know this was buried there?_ He thought as he turned the jagged shard over in his hands. _Come to think of it, my back has been tingling whenever I've been in danger. Almost like a sixth sense or something. Weird. I've never heard of an intuition quirk before._

He tossed the cutting hazard into a half-buried freezer nearby.

_I wonder how strong I am?_

Walking over to the freezer, he awkwardly grabbed the appliance. Where the half filled sand and water clogged freezer had come from was a mystery, but he doubted anybody would mind if he messed with it. Getting as good a grip as he could, he lifted, pushing with his legs. To his amazement the freezer felt practically weightless in his arms. Lifting it higher, he was able to rest the giant wreck on his shoulder easily.

_This thing must weigh over five hundred kilograms! This is incredible!_

His astonishment was cut short as the bottom of the freezer gave way, unleashing a torrent of water and wet trash. Leaping backwards, he tossed the freezer aside before he could get his shorts dirty and it fell to the ground with a loud, dull thud.

Clapping away the sand, he eagerly searched for the heaviest thing at the beach. At the boundary of the sand and the grassy ledge adjoining the shore he spotted a burnt-out, four door sedan. It must have been driven out to the water then torched by some joy riders. Walking up to the car, he looked around excitedly to make sure he alone. Apart from the gulls, there was no sign of anyone.

Turning back to the car, he reached underneath the trim and gripped the frame by the wheel well. Gritting his teeth, he lifted. Again, he was able to manage the weight with almost impossible ease. In shocked disbelief, he started laughing, the car held aloft in his hands.

_I must be dreaming! This thing must weigh over two and a half tonnes!_

With reckless abandon he tossed the car away from him and back towards the beach. With a crash, it slammed into the sand, causing his feet to vibrate as the ground shook.

'Yeah!' Izuku yelled, pumping his fist. He looked around at all the debris and trash surrounding him.

_If I wanted to, I bet I could toss any of this stuff all the way to the ocean!_

Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm himself, but he couldn't stop his mind from racing.

_Assuming this is my maximum strength, which I doubt but just supposing, I would place myself at the high end of heroes purely on my physical strength alone! And to think the school was fawning over Bakugo all these years. Hah!_

Thinking back to his fight against Bakugo, his smile disappeared and a cold sweat came over his body.

_What if I had hit him with that punch? I really put everything I had in that swing. I would have killed him!_

Shaking his head, he tried to get the image of his fist connecting with Bakugo's face out of his mind. Feeling slightly nauseous, he spat. The stench of wet garbage wasn't doing him any favours either.

Walking up the beach towards the road, he thought about his speed.

_If my whole body is physically enhanced then I likely have enhanced speed as well. I should do a test._

He remembered that parallel to the beachfront along the street there was a small bicycle path. Walking back to the roadway, he was surprised to see a thin, blonde man in a blue tracksuit running down towards him.

_As soon as this guy is gone, I'll go for a run._

As the thin man slowly made his way down the trail, Izuku pulled out his phone. It was almost two o'clock in the afternoon, plenty of time for some more experiments.

_When I saved that kid yesterday, I was able to jump pretty high too. After I'm done here, I'll find a deserted alley somewhere and see how high I can jump. At least my jumping height should be pretty easy to quantify._

Izuku smiled to himself as he remembered how he used to fantasize about how he'd test his quirk when he inevitably got one. He had come up with all sorts of plans and methods to categorize his powers and he would spend hours lecturing his mother on all his criteria and arbitrary ranking systems. Now that he finally had a quirk, it seemed as though he couldn't actually put any of his plans into practice.

'Hello there young man. Pleasant day isn't it?' wheezed the thin blonde man as he trotted by.

'Sure is!' Izuku returned enthusiastically, still smiling.

Out of the corner of his eye he watched the man slowly disappear down the path. Once he was sufficiently far away, Izuku put away his phone and started off in the opposite direction.

_I'll start slow._

Beginning at a light jog, he slowly built up speed until he was running at what he used to consider a fast pace. The sea air felt great rushing through his hair.

_Not bad. Let's try a little faster._

He accelerated, running faster and faster. His ears became filled with the sound of rushing air as he tore along the uneven dirt trail. Looking to his side, he saw the buildings along the waterfront rapidly move past.

_I can't really tell how fast I'm running. Wait, this is stupid. I can do better…_

Gradually slowing himself to a halt, he pulled out his phone again. Selecting his map app, he zoomed in on his location.

_Let's see, what's a landmark an even distance away? Ah. Here we go. Restaurant Yukihira. It's about one kilometer from here._

Switching to the stopwatch on his phone, he crouched down and readied himself just like he had been taught in gym class. He took a few breaths and focused on the path in front of him.

_Go!_

Taking off, he pumped his arms to match his sprint. The ground rushed beneath him and he felt the earth pounding beneath his feet. Shooting a glance to his side, he saw the buildings blur past. Before he knew it he came up on the dingy restaurant. Skidding to a halt, he quickly pressed the stop button on his cell phone.

_And time! Let's see…17.5! So, if I traveled one kilometer in 17.5 seconds…60 divided by 17.5 is 3.42, I think? Divide that by 60 and multiply by 1,000… that should be around 57 m/s? That's damn fast! That's over 200 kilometers per hour!_

His excitement was interrupted by the sensation of coarse sand on his skin. His feet felt dirty. Puzzled, he looked down and nearly fainted at what he saw. His prized red runners, arguably the most important part of his entire persona, were simply gone. In a panic, he retraced his steps. Every couple meters he came across a scrap of red fabric, or a piece of shoe string. It was like he was walking through a gruesome crime scene. Each step led him to a fresh horror. At last he returned to where he had started his foolish test, the tattered scraps of his shoes cradled in his arms. There was no saving them.

With a mournful sigh, he dropped the remains in a garbage container. Throwing his hands in his pockets, he did some accounting as he walked bare foot down the hot city street.

 _Collectors clock, 20,000 yen. New phone screen, 1,000 yen. New shoes…60,000 yen._ He gulped. _If this keeps up I'll be bankrupt by the time Kacchan's suspension is over._

* * *

Izuku muttered angrily to himself as he pattered bare foot down the sidewalk. When he had went to catch his bus, the driver had refused him at the door.

'No shoes no service…Typical. My feet are cleaner than the floors of his bus...'

With mass transit closed to him he was forced to walk the long trip back home. He had stepped on gum twice now, and he was feeling less "Huckleberry Finn" and more "Impoverished Crackhead".

_My whole life I've wanted a quirk. And now that I've get one I've only ever experienced misery. First my clock, then my phone, and now my trademark red shoes. There's nothing left to take! Oh, I have to live the rest of my life in fear of the government. That sucks too I guess…But my shoes though!_

As he sulked, a yellow ribbon fluttered in front of him and he stopped. Looking over, he saw he was standing in front of a crumbing apartment building, police tape draped haphazardly across its blasted off doors. From its scorched walls and destroyed windows, he could taste the acrid smell of burnt plastic and foul asbestos. Whatever had happened here, it must have been recent as there were faint plumes of smoke raising from some exposed wiring in the wall.

Suddenly he heard a loud bang, followed by shouting. Startled, he turned his head to a distant apartment. He couldn't help but overhear a screaming argument between two neighbours, each promising the other bloody retribution if they didn't respect their privacy.

As the pair screeched their lungs out, he became aware of the steepening shadows around him. Slowly he looked up. Looming above him were four, grey unfinished towers. Their heights stretching far above the surrounding tenements and small shops. At their peak he could see their rusting ribs, a corroded network of half assembled steel left bare above a mottled grey, concrete skin.

Those unfinished behemoths had many names; the Grey Towers, the Eyesores, Bones. Any name would do really, so long as it was depressing and communicated some element of disdain. Carefully omitted from post cards and commercials, they were the perpetual embarrassment of Musutafu. A tumor on its otherwise flawless steel and glass skyline.

Stretching around them in vast swathes of crumbling infrastructure, garbage choked alleys, brothels, drug houses, graffiti covered vacants, and run-down stores, was the crime infested slums. There were no hero agencies in the slums, none that Izuku knew of anyway, and very few heroes would even enter the no-man's-land surrounding the Grey Towers.

There was no prestige to be found here, no marketable victories, no glory. There was only filth, disease, and worst of all: squalor. What hero wanted to pose for the news over a gang of fourteen-year-old drug addicts he had pummelled for stealing soft drinks and candy from a convenience store? What hero agency wanted to tie their name to suffocated prostitutes and vagrant murders?

It would be career suicide, assuming you could even draw the media out to the ghetto in the first place. Whether through some secret instruction or pure economics, the press avoided reporting on the crimes in the slums. It would call attention to some of the more shameful issues about their quirk focused social hierarchy. And so, the area was left to the understaffed and underfunded police force.

Though Izuku idolized heroes, he recognized that many of the criticisms leveled at pro hero culture was valid. They _did_ care too much about their image and spent far too much time worried about their popularity instead of helping people. But he had always reasoned that it was the governments responsibility to fight systemic issues that gave rise to crime, not the heroes themselves. Not that he had much faith in the government anymore.

'Oh, jeez.' he breathed as he looked up at the Grey Towers, 'How'd I find himself here of all places?'

Dropping his chin, he cast his eyes low and resumed walking at a deliberate pace. Though he had spent his whole life in Musutafu, he had never strayed far from his own quiet residential neighbourhood. Occasionally he would go downtown to shop or see a movie, but that was it.

From what he remembered the slums weren't too dangerous during the day. Occasionally you would hear about a violent mugging or a robbery gone wrong, but most violent crimes occurred at night. It was said that gangs of petty thugs would fight over their meagre territory while powerful villains were rumoured to hold secret meetings in diplidated apartments and business, planning their next attack.

As he walked down the sidewalk, he noticed a group of older teenagers a block up the street. They were laughing and jostling each other roughly. He felt his sixth sense tingle and without thinking he turned down a side alley.

 _Discretion is the better part of valour. I just hope I don't cut my feet down here and get some sort of disease._ He thought as he hopped over a broken bottle.

As he cautiously made his way down the alley, he looked up at the tall high-rises that seemed to be pressing down around him. The grid of alleyways and side passages was laid out like a maze.

Stopping beside an overflowing dumpster, he looked over his shoulder back the way he had came. _Maybe I should just wait here until those guys move on. I don't want to get lost in here._

As he hesitated, he thought he heard furtive voices coming from around the corner. Perking up his ears, he focused on the faint sounds.

'Come on guys, what's a little money between friends?' said a panicked man's voice.

'Shut up.' growled a deep voice.

'We warned you, Weasel. You got money for bookies, but not for us?' said a third man.

Izuku heard a smacking sound followed by a yelp of pain.

'Come're! There's no where to run off to now...' rumbled the deep voice again.

Ignoring the warning signals his body was sending him, Izuku crept forward towards the corner of the building, peering around the chipped concrete wall, he spotted two burly men bodily hauling a third skinny man off around the opposite corner.

 _Something tells me these guys aren't heading out for lunch._ He thought nervously.

Moving as quickly as he dared down the alleyway, he stopped at the corner and took a peek. He saw that the two goons were marching a protesting, smaller man down towards a dead end. Biting his lip, he hesitated before tiptoeing forward.

'End of the line, Weasel.'

'G-Guys, at least let my bets ride out. I-I-I've got a lock!'

'Uh-huh, we've heard that one be-'

'Hey!' Izuku shouted.

The two thugs whirled around, Izuku's eyes widened as he saw that one of the two was holding a gun.

'What the hell-' started one of the two thugs. Seeing his chance, Weasel sprang out, trying in vain to push past the two leather jacketed gangsters.

With a snarl the gunman pushed the thin man back and raised his weapon.

'No!' Izuku yelled, running forward.

Startled at the sudden shout, the gunman whipped around and leveled the pistol at Izuku. As the gun pointed at him, he felt a twitch in his gut. Without thinking, he bent at the knees, flipping backwards for a millisecond. In that instant, a gunshot rang out and he saw a shiny, brass coated bullet fly past his face. As the bullet sailed by, he snapped back up and dashed forward.

Without stopping to think, Izuku attacked. Before the thug realized what was happening, Izuku pushed into him with both hands, sending him flying down the alleyway and into a massive heap of black trash bags.

Swearing violently, the second thug raised his hand and slashed down at Izuku. As the man's hand fell, it transformed in mid air into a clawed talon before Izuku's very eyes. With a yelp, Izuku reacted.

Before the clawed hand could come down, Izuku flailed out, slapping the man's cheek with the palm of his hand. The blow produced a sound like a bull whip cracking. Pirouetting like a ballerina, the man spun round before collapsing against the wall of the alley.

Izuku stood there motionless, completely overwhelmed at what he had just done. Chest heaving and ears ringing, he tried and failed to process what had just happened. Blinking he suddenly became aware of the thin man pulling on his arm.

'Hey kid! Kid!' shouted the thin man he had just saved, 'Unless you want to be around when the rest of em' show up, you'd better get moving!'

Nodding, Izuku turned and began jogging alongside him. As Izuku and the man retreated down the alley, he heard the groaning thugs start to stir, groggily shouting after them.

* * *

After crossing a few blocks, the thin man stopped. While Izuku looked back fearfully for sign of pursuit, the man slouched over against the front of a pawn shop, gasping in sharp breaths. With shaking hands, he reached into his cheap suit jacket and produced a pack of cigarettes. Pulling one out, he held it out for Izuku who shook his head mutely.

Shrugging the man took out a lighter, lit up the cigarette, and took a long drag. Coughing, he exhaled and shook his head in disbelief.

'I owe you one kid.' he rasped, 'I thought my goose was cooked that time. The name's Weasel. What's yours?'

'Uh, Izuku.'

'Well thanks Izuku. You've got some balls, what's your quirk? You on Trigger or something?'

'W-What? No!' Izuku said in shock, shaking his head in vehement denial, ' I-I would never! B-Besides I don't even have a quirk anyways.'

'Really?' Weasel eyed him appraisingly before shrugging again, 'Huh, could have fooled me. So, you spend your Saturdays running around alleys?

'Um, not really. It's a long story. I sort of…got lost back there. I was looking for a way out when I heard you getting attacked by those men. Who were they?'

'Oh, just some loan sharks.' Weasel said off-handily. Puffing out a cloud of smoke with relish, he looked at his cigarette appreciatively before turning back to him. 'So, you tryin' to be a hero or something?'

Izuku laughed and ran his hand through his hair.

'No. Not anymore. I used to want to but…I never got a quirk so…'

The man nodded.

'Shame. You never see those costumed idiots down here where the real victims are. You know what? I say fuck it, you could be a hero if you wanted to. Quirk or no.'

The man spoke with no real conviction and Izuku couldn't tell how serious he was, but he felt himself blush regardless.

'T-Thanks.'

The pair were silent for a minute as the man finished his cigarette. After smoking it down to the filter, he tossed it aside and stomped it down. Running his hand around the edges of his small mustache he looked back to Izuku.

'Listen: Despite what you may have heard back there, Weasel always repays his debts. You ever need a line on free cable or a hot tip, I'm your man.' he said proudly. Reaching into his suit jacket, he pulled out a small business card. Izuku took it and read the cover.

"Jack Hammer: discrete cable installation, plumbing expropriator, and professional legal counsel."

_Jack Hammer? Is this guy for real?_

'S-sure. I'll keep that in mind.' Izuku said politely, tucking the card into his wallet.

'See ya' around kid.'

Pushing himself off against the graffiti covered shop front, the man straightened his stained suit jacket before stepping away. As the man left, Izuku looked around the streets for some street signs.

_Where am I?_

'Oh, and kid?' Weasel called out.

Izuku faced the man.

'They'll be lookin' for you now. Shocker and his boys. You want my advice? Go down towards 88th Street and head towards Mill's Bar. Then walk up to Tourney Avenue. You'll be in Speed Demon's territory. They won't follow you there.'

'Um, okay. So Tourney, is that over-' Izuku started to point but Weasel interrupted him.

'Alright, remember to keep your head down.'

Izuku watched helplessly as the man hastily walked away. Before he could decide whether or not to ask for him for directions, Weasel disappeared into another alley.

With a sigh, he pulled out his phone and looked up Mill's Bar. Walking down the street, he attempted to process what he had just done.

_If I keep acting out like this then the government will track me down for sure! But what choice did I have? I couldn't just let a man die._

He kept down the street, occasionally glancing around him to make sure he wasn't being followed.

_Besides it's not like any police or heroes come down here anyway. I bet you nobody would even notice I was here. I'm sure these people need all the help they can get…_

Izuku caught himself and shook his head.

_Don't even think about it Midoriya! Those two guys were about to kill you. You got lucky!_

As he started across an intersection, he suddenly heard the sound of peeling tires on pavement. Whipping his head around, he saw a crowded SUV driving straight at him. The man sitting in the passenger side seat was the man with the claw hand from the alley. Izuku saw a red hand print on the side of his face. He looked murderous.

With a yelp, Izuku ran across the street and into an alleyway. Ignoring the alarmed screeches of rats and the disgusting puddles of filth in his path, he fled. Jumping over trash bins and hissing steam vents he followed the filth encrusted passage as the sounds of pursuit neared. Rounding a corner, he found that the alley abruptly ended. Whirling around, he looked back the way he had come. From around the corner, he heard the vehicle screech to a halt and car doors open and slam shut.

'Crap!' Izuku hissed, wildly scanning his surroundings for some way of escape.

_I could hide in some trash bags! Or maybe the dumpster? Maybe if I run now-_

'Oh, little boy? Yoo-hoo!' called out a gravelly voice in as high a note as it could. Footsteps echoed around the stained concrete walls. They were coming.

Izuku looked up. He was surrounded by towering, windowless high rises on all sides.

_I jumped pretty high the other day. Maybe if I wall jump from side to side I can make it!_

As he studied the wall for the best place to jump to, the thug yelled out again, sounding much angrier than before.

'We know you're here you little shit! I swear if you make us dig through trash to get you…' echoed a harsh voice down the alley. Izuku heard what sounded like five or six people walking down the wet pavement, slowly drawing closer.

Snapping his eyes on a distant ledge, he aimed his body. After tensing his legs, he leapt as hard as he could. Soaring upwards, he travelled far faster than he had anticipated. With a smack he collided with the concrete wall, flat as a pancake.

'Oof!' he huffed as he struck the wall, arms and legs splayed out against the cool, smooth concrete surface.

Shaking his head, he looked down. He was clinging to the wall about thirty feet in the air! Rather than slide down the featureless concrete, he found that he was gripping it effortlessly.

Izuku looked around at his hands and feet in utter amazement. His toes and fingers seemed to be providing him with excellent grip. Tentatively he reached upward and gripped the wall. His hand stuck easily to the damp, smooth surface. Mouth falling open in incredulity, he started to crawl up the vertical wall as easily as crawling on the floor. Increasing his speed, he began rushing upwards. He was dimly aware of the voices of the thugs beneath him, but they were quickly fading.

Before he know it he was clambering over the edge of the apartment building. Standing now atop his dizzying vantage point he saw the neighbourhoods of the slums sparwling out around him; a crooked network of graffiti scrawled alleys and dark side streets that were quickly lost between the dull concrete tenements. However what had once been an imposing barricade just seconds ago was now barely an obstacle. 

_I could go anywhere I want to..._ He thought numbly before a smile slowly crept over his face. _Anywhere!_

Before he could fully consider the possibilities, his thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of shouting from the alleyway below. Leaning over, he saw that his clueless pursuers were now violently searching through the trash of the alley. Evidently they hadn't seen him escape and they were now busily shouting angry epithets while throwing stinking garbage bags into the air in their mad delve deeper into the trash of the alley. 

A sharp bark of laughter burst from Izuku's throat as he watched them scurry to and fro, searching in vain for someone who wasn't there. When it was clear he wasn't in the alley, the goons frustration caused them to turn on each other and a deafening argument broke out about whose fault it was that he escaped.

Throughout it all they never once looked up. 


	5. Making A Difference

The first thing Izuku did when he got home was hop in the shower. Between the stinking brine of the beach and the trash filled city streets, he smelled like a wet dumpster. As he scrubbed the soles of his feet with soap-soaked sponge, he couldn't help but consider what Weasel had told him.

_I always wanted to be a hero, to help people. But maybe being a pro hero isn't what I should be aiming for. There are no professional hero's in the slums.. There's no money or fame in it, so why would they risk themselves?_ _But I bet I could make a real difference in those people's lives! If I disguise myself, nobody would even know I was down there._

He frowned to himself as he noticed an off-putting orange stain on his heel. Redoubling his efforts, he scrubbed harder.

_Then again, if I put on a costume and head out to fight crime without a licence, I'll be a vigilante! If I'm caught, I could end up in prison!_

He paused and brushed a wet strand of hair out of his face.

_On the other hand, I'm already a fugitive. I have so much power. Should I really waste all my strength hiding? I could be saving people! I have a responsibility to do the right thing. I was given these powers for a reason._

His feet finally clean. He stood up and looked at himself in the mirror. Everything was happening so fast.

_If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this the smart way. No more messing around. It's not just my life on the line. I have to think about Mom and Dad too._

He looked into his reflection's eyes and nodded. The somber moment was undone somewhat by his mother's voice calling him from the kitchen.

'Izu-Bun! Din-Din is done!'

He groaned and hung his head in embarrassment.

'…coming Mom….' he replied in a pained voice.

* * *

His mind made up, Izuku devoted every waking moment outside of school to understanding his powers. He was even able to leverage his position as a mod at the Hero Board website to brainstorm with thousands of other nerds like him the exact limitations and applications that his "hypothetical" quirk had. From his research, he was able to determine that while he had immense physical strength, speed, agility, and sensory awareness (including his illusive sixth sense) he was still vulnerable to specific elemental attacks.

This was true for most heroes though. It was difficult to fight against someone like Endeavour who could just incinerate you. To that end, he decided that his best strategy was to fight like an ambush predator, like many species of spider incidentally. Using his superior senses and physical abilities, he would get as close to his enemies as possible before rushing them down and pummelling them before they could react. To increase his versatility, he could make use of gadgets and his suit. That was the theory anyway.

He had always loved the idea of using gadgets in a fight. When he was a little kid, in lieu of a quirk he used to make "devices" to help him defeat "evil doers". But one day after accidentally setting fire to his mother's wardrobe, he had been forced to surrender his arsenal and promise to never build any more destructive gadgets again.

But now that he was arguably wiser, he was certain that he could come up with something to compliment his natural abilities. The only question was what could he build? Izuku was no slouch when it came to engineering. He may not have built anything destructive in a while, but he had still tinkered with every piece of usable technology he could get his hands on. On the other hand, for all his technical expertise he was only fourteen years old.

Beyond his technical limitations, he wasn't exactly swimming in cash either. He and his mother depended on the income of his father (who worked abroad) to sustain themselves and although they lived comfortably enough, they still had to manage their means. For the moment, any gadgets he could think of would have to wait.

As for the outfit itself, Izuku had been making his own costumes for years. They were only made of cloth, not the hardened Kevlar and high strength polymers that proper superhero costumes were made of. But, when it came to design, Izuku was convinced he had good taste. The costume he had settled on was red and blue with a tight, full mask. He had chosen his costume design based on two primary sources. Firstly, to pay homage to All Might's costume, choosing the same shades that his hero had worn in his silver age costume. And secondly, to reference the strange colouration of the spider that had given him his powers in the first place.

There was just one small problem. When he was sewing the gloves, he had discovered that he had to use a very thin material in his suits construction or else he would lose the ability to crawl up surfaces. Additionally, he needed to have as much movement as possible to make full use of his superior agility. Taking this into account he was forced to use spandex for his costume.

Now, it wasn't unheard of for some heroes to fight in tight bodysuits. It was just that the only heroes that did, tended to do so to capitalize on their sex appeal ala Mt. Lady. Izuku convinced himself that if he wanted to be the best hero he could, he would just have to bite the bullet and use spandex for his costume. What was a little discomfort if it saved his life?

_If only I had access to a proper workshop, I could build my dream costume! Heat resistant, electrically grounded, bullet proof! Maybe one day._ He thought wistfully as he looked over the concept drawing for his costume.

The next day after school, he prepared for a long night of work. After convincing his mother that he was starting on his Halloween costume early, he busied himself with her sewing kit. She was much better at this sort of thing than he was, but he couldn't risk her becoming too familiar with his new suit. Thankfully because the colour scheme matched All Might's she didn't spare his costume a second glance.

After many frustrating hours of work leading into the wee hours of morning, he finally finished. Donning his costume, he looked at himself in the mirror.

_It looks like a pair of red and blue pajamas. But under the circumstances it's the best I could do._ He thought with mild disappointment as he compared his drawing to what he had created. _The simpler it is, the easier it will be for me to repair, I guess._

As he had feared, the costume clung tightly to his body, outlining his musculature and leaving very little to the imagination. Izuku blushed as he turned and looked at his back.

_Thank god I'm wearing a mask._

He shook his head. He'd just have to get over himself. If all it took to beat him was making fun of his costume, he'd be a goner for sure. Changing out of his costume and hiding it deep in the back of his closet, he climbed into bed.

_Tomorrow at midnight I'll get started._

* * *

Izuku watched as the sun slowly rose over Musutafu. Last night he could barely sleep a wink. Getting out of bed, he had a shower and got dressed. He felt so nervous that he could hardly touch his breakfast. As he pushed his eggs around his plate, his mother looked over at him with concern.

'Izu, what's wrong? Are you worried about Bakugo?' she asked.

He looked up in surprise. He had completely forgotten that today was the day that Bakugo's suspension ended.

'N-No. I just feel a little sick I guess.'

'Well if anything happens, call me. Okay?'

He nodded.

_How could I forget about Kacchan? I hope he doesn't have any hard feelings…_

He snorted at the thought. Bakugo was the most stubborn person he had ever known. He would never forget about their little scuffle, of that he was certain.

After nervously pacing around his room for a while, he grabbed his backpack and headed out for school. He had no idea how Bakugo would react. He still felt guilty for provoking him that day. The more that he understood his powers, the more he was convinced that if he hadn't redirected his punch, he probably would have killed him.

He debated whether or not he should take a different route to school to avoid a confrontation altogether, but he figured that would only make things worse. If Bakugo was going to confront him, it would be better if he did it outside of school property, for both of their sakes.

Sure enough the blonde haired boy was waiting for him on the sidewalk in front of his house. As he drew close, Bakugo hefted his backpack and fell in step beside him.

'Deku.'

'Bakugo.'

The two walked for a while before Bakugo spoke.

'I promised my parents that I would apologize to you. I'm sorry.' Bakugo said plainly, clearly not meaning a word.

'I'm sorry too. F-For provoking you, I mean.' Izuku returned earnestly.

Bakugo's nostrils flared as he exhaled.

'It's my fault for letting your dumbass get to me.'

They resumed walking in silence. For a moment, Izuku started to believe that the worst was over, but then Bakugo spoke again.

'Don't think I don't know what you're doing, Deku.' he said, looking over at him.

'W-What I'm doing?' asked Izuku.

'You think that if I lose control, get angry or whatever, I'll do something stupid and be ineligible to attend UA.'

'Huh?'

"You heard me.' Bakugo replied calmly, 'You know how to get under my skin better than anyone else, Deku. Well I'm telling you right now that no matter what you do or say, I _will_ be getting into UA. You can count on it.'

'K-Kacchan, I-' Bakugo narrowed his eyes, '-Er, Bakugo, I didn't mean to try and get you expelled or anything! I just wasn't feeling like myself that day, that's all.'

Bakugo said nothing so he continued.

'Really, I hope you get into UA. You'll do great! I know you will.'

Bakugo sneered, but didn't respond. Instead, he looked over at Izuku, his eyes carefully travelling down his uniform.

'W-What?' Izuku said, sweating slightly.

'Since when did you get so fit, Deku? I know you don't work out. All you do is daydream and jerk off to hero's all day.'

'I-I do too work out.' Izuku said quickly, trying his best not to sound too defensive, 'I've been working out for a while now.'

Bakugo looked at him skeptically and Izuku couldn't help but look away.

'Why? Trying to compensate for your disability?'

Izuku felt a flash of anger. For someone who was apparently committed to avoiding trouble so he could get into UA, Bakugo sure was committed to being an ass.

'B-Because you're not the only one who might try to get admitted to UA!'

Izuku saw Bakugo's temple throb dangerously. The one thing that drove Bakugo into a rage faster than anything else was his refusal to give up his dream of becoming a hero. To Izuku's amazement however, Bakugo was able to reign himself in.

'You don't have a quirk. You can't be a hero. Get over yourself.' Bakugo said tersely through clenched teeth.

'Th-There are other programs at UA. I could enter general education.' Izuku said and Bakugo snorted.

'And you need muscles for that, why exactly? If you were smart, you'd choose a high school that specializes in education, not their hero program, dumbass.'

Despite himself, Izuku felt his anger well up again.

'I could join the support hero program.' he said impulsively and Bakugo glared at him.

'Support…'

'Yeah, why not! They have applicants that don't always have combat applicable quirks. I could build some gadgets and-'

'Argh, you and your fucking toys. Being a hero isn't like entering a damn science fair!'

'We'll see.' Izuku muttered, glaring back at Bakugo.

The two stopped and faced each other. Bakugo opened his mouth to say something, however after a moment of intense struggle he managed to restrain himself. Snapping his jaw shut, he resumed walking and the two spent the rest of the trip in silence as they headed into school.

* * *

Class had been strange without Bakugo's imposing presence, but now that he seemed to be ignoring everyone it felt downright bizarre. To the outside observer, Bakugo was acting like the ideal student. He didn't disrupt class once and he promptly turned in his homework when asked. He didn't even say anything when Ruriko's phone went off, interrupting him during his English practice.

It almost seemed as though he had turned over a new leaf, but Izuku wasn't fooled. He could tell that Bakugo was as angry as ever. Sitting next to him felt like being beside a ticking time bomb. However, to his amazement, the day passed without incident. As soon as school ended, Bakugo immediately packed up his things and left without saying a word to anybody.

_I hope the next few months pass as smoothly as today did. But I doubt it. Someone or something is going to set Kacchan off. It's just a matter of time._ Izuku thought grimly as he watched Bakugo disappear through the door.

Packing up his things, Izuku started home. Rather than tempt fate on the eve of his big night, he avoided Bakugo's street and went through the alleys instead. Upon arriving home, he attempted to pass the time until midnight but he was so nervous he could hardly sit still. After finishing his homework and browsing the internet for a while he gave up and settled back on his bed. As he lay there, he repeated his plans to himself.

_At midnight I'll climb out the window and head over to the slums where I first met Weasel. Weasel said something about the area being controlled by some guy named "Shocker". He didn't show up tagged in any Hero Board posts so he must be some two-bit gang leader. Seems like the perfect candidate for me to test my strength on._

He stretched out on the bed and looked at all his All Might figurines surrounding him.

_I doubt All Might would approve of what I'm doing. But I can't just sit by while people suffer! If I could I would go through the proper channels, get my license, and become a pro hero. But thanks to Dr. Akatani, I'm going to have to do what I can as a vigilante._

He looked over at his closet where his costume was waiting for him. Suddenly a different thought entered his mind.

_What about becoming a support hero?_

He frowned. He had really only been trying to get under Bakugo's skin. Support heroes worked largely in the background of the hero world, offering repairs, gadgets, and technical expertise to hero agencies while also assisting in disaster response and with the collateral damage caused by villain attacks. Izuku had immense respect for them, but he always wanted to be like All Might, directly helping those in need. Most support heroes worked in a lab or behind a computer screen, far from the front lines.

_Still if I were to apply to UA in the Support Hero program I would gain access to the means and training to construct my own gadgets and maybe even get a more professional costume. At the same time, I would be working towards a good career path. Support hero's get paid well after all. Lord knows that will make Mom and Dad happy._

His train of thought was interrupted by his mother calling him to supper. Pushing the thoughts about UA out of his mind, he went to the dinner table.

* * *

Izuku stood stock-still by his door, listening carefully. From the sound of his mother's breathing, he guessed she was asleep. Donning the plain grey backpack he had bought at a thrift store to contain his costume, he tiptoed over to his window. Sliding the glass pane back, he tentatively crawled outside. Clinging to the exterior wall of the building he quickly started to scurry towards the ground. Though he didn't live in a high-rise, he was still several stories above street level.

For some reason heights didn't bother him anymore. He knew he should be scared out of his wits crawling down a building with nothing but his fingers and feet keeping him from falling to his death but he had such a good grip, and such a keen sense of balance that vertigo and fear of heights didn't even enter his mind. Additionally, his sixth sense was telling him that he was perfectly safe on the side of the building and he had learned to trust those instincts.

Upon reaching the ground, he furtively glanced around the block to see if he was noticed. It was late enough that the street was empty, but he knew that would change as he left the peaceful residential neighbourhoods. Musutafu was a big city, and downtown there was always traffic.

After hearing and seeing nothing, he drew his hood over his head and started to jog. Keeping to the shadows as best he could, he made his way to the subway station and after a short train ride he entered the slums.

The streets were quiet as he neared the alley he had first met Weasel. Occasionally he would see a cluster of people, usually young men, walking together. Every time they drew close, Izuku's heart would race as they passed but each time nothing would happen and he would scold himself for being too paranoid, but he couldn't help himself. He was out of his element and he found himself thinking that the natives could smell an outsider like him coming a mile away.

Eventually he decided that he was in far enough, and he ducked into an empty alleyway to change into his costume.

Once he had slipped on his mask, he stuffed his casual clothes in his backpack and crawled up to the roof of a pawnshop. Stashing it, he was reasonably sure that no one would find his stuff. Looking around, he regarded the shabby buildings and city streets before him.

_So…now what?_

Tuning in his ears to his surroundings, all he could hear was the sounds of distant traffic and electrical humming.

_I should find some people._

Running and leaping across the rooftops, he eventually heard a scuffling sound coming from an alleyway. Peering below, he saw a pair of homeless people picking through a dumpster.

_My first couple of nights are probably going to be pretty slow._ Thought Izuku lifting his eyes to study the skyline. He sighed as he watched a distant helicopter flying over the highway above a line of flashing emergency vehicles.

_I'm in over my head. I should find some sort of criminal statistics map of the city._

Pulling out his phone he was about to search for crime hotspots when he heard voices coming from the street below.

'Alright let's get going. I don't want to be the last guy coming in the room.' said a man's voice.

'Claw still pissed?' asked a second man.

'Yeah. He's walking around with three shots in his pocket. Motherfucker's crazy.'

Izuku quickly ducked down and crept to the edge of the roof. Coming out of a convenience store were two young men with bottles in their hands. As Izuku looked at them he felt his back twitch.

_Claw sounds like it could be a villain name!_

Watching the two from across the street, Izuku leapt from rooftop to rooftop, keeping pace with the men as he eavesdropped.

'Yo, if the cops frisk him when he's carrying that shit, he'll be slapped with a mandatory life sentence.'

'Whatever. It's his ass.'

'I just want this done with. After you wanna' come with me to Pole Cats?'

'Sure.'

The pairs conversation continued as they walked for a few blocks. Izuku barely understood a word they were saying, though he tried to remember as much of it as he could. Before long they stopped before a run-down looking apartment building. Ringing the buzzer, they entered, slamming the barred door rattling shut behind them.

Izuku studied the building. There was no rooftop access and all of the windows except one near the top was boarded up with plywood. Bracing his legs, he leapt across the street. Landing lightly on the roof, he crawled over the edge of the building and to the open window. Slipping in, he immediately understood why the window was left open. Inside was perhaps the smelliest, dirtiest, most foul bathroom of all time. Even though he was clinging to the ceiling, he felt unclean.

Holding his breath, he pressed his ear to the wall of the washroom and listened for any movement. He could hear faint voices talking, but he didn't hear anyone in the hallway. Still hanging onto the ceiling, he carefully opened the door and poked his head outside. The bathroom was at the end of the hallway. Between himself and the stairs on the opposite end there were two doors.

As he considered his next move he heard heavy footsteps climbing up the stairs. Drawing his head back, he waited. From out in the hall he heard a door open.

'You're late.' said a gravelly voice irritably, 'Come in and sit down.'

The two men entered and shut the door behind them.

_I've definitely heard that voice before._

Izuku remembered the man with the clawed hand from when he saved Weasel.

_These guys must work for Claw! Or maybe they work for the guy Weasel mentioned. Shocker? Ugh! I need more information. I should go in for a closer look._

Dropping down to the stained carpet below, Izuku followed the sounds to the closest door. Sweating profusely, he grabbed the door handle and slowly turned. Once the door was open a crack, he peered inside. There were three men sitting on a couch, smoking and drinking while they watched a muted television. Izuku didn't recognize any of them.

_So if I'm right about that guy from the alley with a rough voice being Claw, and those two guys from the street are in there too, there are at least six people in that room! I don't know if I could handle even one guy, let alone six!_

While Izuku crouched down by the door, the man with the gravely voice spoke.

'Alright, count time. Who's short?'

'I'm shy forty.' said one of the men on the couch.

'Oh?' the speaker was clearly unimpressed.

'Yeah, I don't think I got a good spot. How'em I supposed to advertise when I'm under that overpass? Cops and shit driving by-'

'You don't need to advertise. The stuff sells itself.'

'Well yeah, but its not like there isn't competition. Let me set up by that club on 80th.'

'You go over there its your ass. That Neanderthal Knuckleduster goes there time to time and If he catches you, you'll be breathing through a tube.' the man with the gravelly voice paused, 'Look you're short forty this week. Next week you owe me a hundred and sixty.'

The man shook his head, muttering under his breath.

'Hey! Money goes up. Your short to me, so I'm short to Shocker. I'm covering for you for now. But next week, you better have my hundred-sixty.'

The man on the couch said nothing so the gravelly voiced man continued.

'Now, any word on that green haired punk?'

The men on the couch looked at each other.

'Claw, man, he's long gone.' said a man Izuku couldn't see but he recognized his voice as belonging to one of the pair he tailed.

'Yeah.' said the other member of the pair, 'He's probably just some spazed out junky. Hell, I get ten or fifteen a week coming to me with green-black hair.'

Claw snarled, 'I say find him, so you find him! You know how it makes us look, getting rolled on by some Mowgli looking fucker? Haze is still in the hospital for Christ's sake. If these Trigger freakers start thinking they can just take what they want, we're going to have a civil war on our hands!'

'I can't be making you you're hundred sixty while also looking around for some fiend.'

'Then have one of your boys check the schools! Dark green hair, green eyes, freckles,-'

Izuku gulped.

'-he's got a speed related quirk. Ask around. Someone has to know something. Got it? Good.'

There was some mumbling of discontent but everyone rose all the same. As Izuku heard them approach the doorway, he quickly leapt up and scurried back to the bathroom. After a moment he heard the door in the hallway swing open. As Claw's goons traipsed out, Izuku stealthily crawled out the window and back to the rooftop.

Looking down, he saw five men walk out the apartment. They broke off into two groups and headed off in different directions.

_These guys seem like small fry. I should wait and follow Claw._

After a moment, he saw a sixth man exit the apartment. From his leather jacket, Izuku recognized him as the man he slapped the day he saved Weasel.

_That has to be Claw._

The man walked over to a parked SUV and entered it. It's engine starting, Izuku watched as it pulled out into the street. He hesitated for a second before taking off in pursuit. Running along the rooftops, he tried his best to keep up with the driving car. Every so often he would have to leap across the street as the SUV turned or crawl alongside a building too tall for him to leap over, but he managed to keep his eyes on his target. After a short drive, the SUV stopped in front of a nondescript, dull grey, brick building. Exiting his vehicle, Claw walked inside.

_How can I get in there?_ Izuku wondered as he studied the building.

There were no windows and he could only see one door. Looking on the roof top, he noticed large ventilation shafts connected to a rusted-out AC system. Jumping over to the roof, he examined the vents. They were just large enough for him to crawl into.

_This is crazy! I feel like I'm in an action movie._ He thought as he popped the vent covering off. Wiggling his way inside, the vent buckled noisily under his weight. Wincing at the sound, he crawled forward on his hands and fingers in an attempt to spread his body weight out as much as possible. Unfortunately, the interior of the air duct was covered in a thick layer of dust and he was quickly covered.

_I hope spandex is machine washable._ He thought as he stifled a sneeze.

Eventually he came by a grated opening. Peering through, he saw that he was in some sort of warehouse. Below him was a concrete floor lined with industrial steel shelving filled with cardboard boxes. In the center of the room a group of men were sitting around a table. Beside each one was a pile of boxes filled with stuffed animals.

Izuku watched as the men grabbed the stuffed animals, tore into them, and extracted a small white packet from the body of each one. They would then place the packet into a waiting tray while tossing the stuffed toy into a giant heap on the floor.

_Is that Trigger?_

Trigger was the latest drug craze that was sweeping across Japan. When consumed, it boosted a person's quirk to far higher levels then what they had normally. However, there were many adverse side effects. Apart from being highly addictive, it also reduced your ability to make rational decisions, blackened your tongue, caused sores in the mouth and body, and if the cheesy anti-rug PSAs were to be believed, you could even lose your quirk completely if you used it long enough. Trigger was nasty business but it was worth its weight in gold. Judging by the sheer volume of white packets that he could see, he had just discovered a veritable goldmine.

_There must be tens of millions of yen worth of drugs on that table!_

As he shifted to get a better look, Izuku felt the vent shudder a little. The back of his head started tingling.

_Careful now. I doubt this vent was designed to hold a fourteen-year-old._

As he watched, he heard a door on the other side of the room open and Claw entered. Walking around the giant mound of discarded toys, Claw approached a costumed man who was supervising the operation. He was wearing a suit of dull yellow metal armour that was crisscrossed with a grid of diagonal black lines. His face was obscured by a full helmet with a face mask. The mask was featureless except for two white lenses which served as his eyes. In his crossed arms, Izuku saw that he was wearing some sort of gauntlets. The air around them appeared to shimmer, like a mirage. The man turned from the workers.

'Claw.' he said in an even, deep voice, 'Were there any complications?'

'No, boss. Everything's going smoothly enough.' Claw said, passing a thick yellow envelope to the costumed man.

'Hm. Was Fuun short again?' asked the costumed man, weighing the envelope in his hands.

'Yes. I gave him another week to make up the difference.'

The costumed man nodded.

'This will be his last chance.'

Izuku felt a shiver run up his spine as the costumed man dropped the envelope on the table.

'One more thing, I heard you've been having your crew chase after that boy who ambushed you and Haze.'

Claw stiffened and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

'Can't let people think we're weak. If someone puts a hand on us-'

'Let it go.' interrupted the armoured man coolly, 'I want you and your people focused on making money, not running after some junkie.'

'But Weasel-'

'Weasel is a degenerate. Sooner or later he'll show up with some new scam and we'll deal with him then. But this kid your chasing? He's probably already OD'd in a vacant somewhere.'

'Boss, with all due respect Haze won't be back on his feet for another month. If we don't make an effort to look after our own, then we're just making ourselves vulnerable.'

'Risk comes with the territory. Nobody's died, nothing was even stolen. The only way people will know that anything happened is if you go around asking questions. I do _not_ want anybody to think-'

Before he could continue however, he was interrupted by a man bursting into the room.

'Shocker!' the man shouted.

'What is it?' said the man in the yellow costume.

'Boss, we've just heard that the Eight Precepts are calling for a meeting!'

'When?' Shocker asked, uncrossing his arms, a tone of alarm in his voice.

'Right now! Speed Demon is already there! He's-'

Before the man could finish, Shocker was moving to the door.

'Claw! Clean up here and see that this gets distributed to the safe houses! Once it's done, stay here until you here from me!'

A second later Izuku heard the door slam shut. Sighing, Claw grabbed a chair and sat by the table in front of the mountain of drugs.

_I should keep working my way up the ladder. That Shocker guy seemed like he was important. I'll have to hurry if I want to catch up to him. I'll just…twist around here…_

As Izuku contorted himself, he suddenly felt the vent shudder and jerk downwards.

_My weight isn't distributed enough! If I can just…_

The vent shook again and Izuku heard alarmed shouts from the warehouse below.

'Uh oh.'

At that the entire vent lurched and fell from the ceiling. Before it could hit the floor, Izuku dove, flying out of the plummeting vent and landing in the pile of disembowelled toys. With a crash the vent collapsed into the warehouse floor, knocking over some of the loaded shelves and showering the room in decades old plaster.

Loose debris still falling from the ceiling, Izuku clambered his way out of the pile. The thugs all looked at him, mouths open in surprise.

'I've uh…gained a bit of weight recently.' Izuku admitted sheepishly.

'Kill him!' screamed Claw as he transformed his hands into sharp blades.

While the rest of the smugglers were still recovering, Izuku moved to engage Claw. Closing the distance before Claw could react, Izuku kicked the man in the stomach, knocking him backwards. Smashing into the table, he was flung into two thugs who all collapsed into a moaning heap.

Swearing and shouting, the other thugs rushed forward. Time seemed to slow for Izuku as he looked at his oncoming foes. One of the thugs was puffing up his cheeks as though to spit on him, three others had their toy slicing knives in their hands and were charging him, and the remaining two seemed to be hanging back.

Izuku pounced. Jumping on the thug with the inflated cheeks first, he gripped the man with his right hand and punched him in the face with left. The thug's shirt tore free as he was knocked down, his mouth spewing steaming hot salvia.

'Ugh!' exclaimed Izuku in disgust, as he ducked beneath the scalding hot spit.

Turning on his heels, he faced the other two thugs that were hanging back. One was creating a ball of what looked like tar in his hands while the other was sprouting a spiky protrusion from his palm. Dashing between them he slammed their heads together, knocking them both unconscious.

_Just three left!_

The three thugs were whirling on their feet, knives in hand, trying to follow his movements. Before they could get a fix on his position, Izuku pounced again. With a kick to the chest he sent one flying backwards and into a cardboard box filled shelf. The other two rushed to face him but Izuku was too fast. With a punch apiece, they were sent tumbling across the floor.

Izuku spun around the room. All of his enemies were sprawled on the concrete, moaning unconscious. He put a gloved hand to his chest. His heart was thumping like a jackhammer! Blood pounding in his ears, he took a few gulping breaths.

_Don't lose focus Izuku! First, I need to secure the perps._

Reaching into his leg pocket with trembling hands, he grabbed a handful of zip ties that he had bought at the hardware store. Going over to each thug, he took their cell phone and wallet, before tying their hands behind their back. The last person he approached was Claw. As Izuku reached down to grab his hands, he suddenly felt his sixth sense go crazy. In that instant Claw flexed his razer tipped fingers and suddenly slashed at him. Without thinking Izuku sidestepped the attack before countering with a punch to Claw's chin, knocking him out cold.

Izuku stood motionless over the unconscious man before he groaned.

_I should have left one standing to interrogate!_

Securing Claw as best he could with his zip ties, Izuku confiscated his phone and wallet then heaped it with all the others.

_Now…what exactly was going on here?_

* * *

Looking through the criminal's wallets, Izuku was surprised to see that besides cash, condoms, and strip club membership cards, there was no ID to be found. Flipping through their phones was much the same. Not even their text messages had any information about their gang, or it was in a code?

Walking over to the table, he inspected the small baggies filled with white powder.

_This might not be Trigger now that I think about it. Maybe this is cocaine or something. I wish I knew how to tell the difference._

Amidst the baggies, trays, and torn animals, he spotted the cash filled yellow envelope that Claw had delivered to Shocker. With barely contained excitement, he grabbed the envelope and turned it over. Tumbling out the end were five, thick wads of cash. Izuku had never seen so much money. Quickly he swept it back into the envelope.

_What should I do with this?_

Izuku thought about all the expenses he had been accumulating.

_I sure could use a cash injection right about now. If I were to take this, I could invest in a better costume, maybe even buy some materials and make some gadgets! And there is so much here a new clock and a pair of shoes wouldn't be asking for too much either, right?_

Just as he was about to stuff the envelope into his pocket he felt a twang of guilt.

_This isn't like winning the lottery. This is drug money. How many people suffered over this? How many people died? If I take this, how could I call myself a hero?_

Shaking his head, he dropped the envelope back to the floor. He didn't need dirty money.

_Seeing as how nobody can talk, I should look for some clues. Maybe I can discover where they get this stuff._

Izuku paced around the warehouse. He wasn't sure what he was looking for exactly, but any information he could get about the gang or their leader was a start. Examining the carboard boxes he couldn't find any shipping invoices, receipts, or any clue whatsoever as to where the drug filled animals had come from. There was a backroom office, but all he found was some old porno mags, a loaded handgun, and a bottle of gin.

_My time is almost up. I'd better call the police and get out of here._

After looking around the place one last time, he carefully stepped outside. Climbing up to a neighbouring rooftop, he used Claw's cellphone to call the police.

'911 emergency response.'

'Uh, yeah Hi. I-I discovered a cache of drugs and-and stuff and I was wanting to report it to the police.' Izuku said, trying to disguise his voice as best he could.

The dispatcher was silent for a moment.

'Just one moment please I'm going to transfer you to the Narcotics Division.'

'Oh, Tha-' Izuku was cut off. The other phone line was already ringing. Scratching his leg, he looked down at his costume.

_This material itches. It's probably from all that dust in the vents. I hope I don't have to hand wash this. That would su-_

Suddenly a woman's voice spoke through the phone.

'Hello, this is Detective Naruku speaking, Musutafu Narcotics Division. How may I be of assistance?'

Izuku hastily cleared his throat and put on a gruff voice.

'Hi, I discovered a drug cache and I want to, um, report it?'

The detective was silent for a moment. Izuku heard a drawer open and a pen click.

'Name.'

'Uh, this is an anonymous tip.'

He heard the scribbling of pen on paper.

'Okay, location?'

'The drugs are at 83rd street, 288. It's a grey, brick warehouse with no windows.'

He heard more writing.

'Would you be willing to meet with a police officer at or nearby to the scene? At this time you would not need to divulge any personnel information or-'

'No thank you. I've said everything I need to say.' Izuku said quickly.

Heart pounding, he hung up. Checking the time, he set the phone down on the roof.

_3:30 am already. I need to wrap this up. It will take me at least forty-five minutes to get home. If the cops don't get here in the next ten minutes, I'll have to bail._

Minutes past but there was no sign of the police. While he was sitting on the rooftop, he suddenly saw the warehouse door bust open. Crouching low, he watched in disbelief as his prisoners escaped. Stumbling and cursing, Claw and the others exited. Looking around wildly while they cradled their wounds they walked off in separate directions. Izuku gritted his teeth and punched his knee.

_Damn it! How did they get free so fast? I was so careful. Maybe one of them has a quirk that I didn't know about…_

Izuku exhaled in frustration as the criminals scattered. Where were the police? Did they not believe him, or did they not care? He checked the time again. Fifteen minutes had passed since he had dialed 911. Shaking his head, he set the phone down on the rooftop and started to run back to where he had stashed his clothes.

_Next time._

* * *

The sun was already rising as Izuku entered his apartment. Carefully closing the door behind him, he walked over to his bedroom and shut the door. Sitting on his bed, he considered everything that had just happened.

_That went almost flawlessly! If Claw and those goons hadn't escaped, I'm sure I would have made a major dent in Shocker's operation! I wonder if the police ever showed up to collect the evidence? Even if they didn't, at least I took apart a distribution center._

As he thought about his prisoners escaping, he remembered the yellow envelope full of money.

_No doubt they took the money with them before they left. Maybe I should have taken that cash after all._

He briefly reconsidered his decision before shaking his head.

_No, I did the right thing. Taking dirty money is a slippery slope. Besides how would I ever explain where I got the cash? Mom would find out eventually. I might be penniless, but at least I've got my integrity._

Changing into his pajamas, he stashed his costume in an old shoe box before laying back in his bed. It was Saturday so he didn't have to worry about getting ready for school. He let himself relax as he considered everything that had happened.

He thought back to what he had heard Shocker say. Who was Speed Demon? What was the Eight Precepts? Why were they meeting? Truthfully, he hadn't learned much, but still. Considering how this was his first time donning the costume, he felt he would have done All Might himself proud.

Before he knew it, he drifted off to sleep. His dreams filled with cheesy one liners and hapless villains.


	6. Work Life Balance

Izuku spent the next two months trying to juggle his school life with his new-found responsibility as a vigilante. In the beginning he had just went out twice a week; once on Fridays and once on Saturdays. But as time went on and he started to learn the streets and piece together the situation on the ground, he started to venture out on Sundays. Then on Mondays. Then Tuesdays. Now he was going out almost every night.

While his spider powers may have granted him incredible endurance, not even his enhanced physical condition could salvage his sleep schedule. For the life of him he couldn't stay awake. At home he spent most of his time sleeping, waking only for meals which caused his mother to worry that he was sick. To try and throw her off his scent, he had told her that his exhaustion was caused by his new exercise regime. He didn't like lying to her, but what other choice did he have?

School was even worse. Before he got his powers, he had spent the majority of his time in class daydreaming. Rousing himself only to turn in his homework or answer the teacher's questions. He never had to try to get top grades anyway, so what was the point? Nowadays though, instead of daydreaming he would fall asleep from exhaustion. Needless to say, Mr. Tamanegi was not pleased but Izuku argued that as long as he kept his grades up, there was no cause for worry. In the end, he was able to get away with his light napping more often than not.

This drove Bakugo almost to the breaking point with rage, but somehow, he managed to restrain himself. He never once acted on his impulses no matter how many times Izuku fell asleep in front of him. It was actually kind of impressive.

One day as Izuku was dozing off in his seat something Mr. Tamanegi said penetrated into his fog like mind.

'…your high school entrance exams will be next week.'

With a start Izuku perked up. Blinking, he pinched the bridge of his nose and shook himself awake.

_Did he say next week?!_

'Now as I'm sure you know; these exams will determine what school you will be attending for the next three years of your life. They will determine in large part what high school you go too, what university you can attend, which will in turn affect what your employment options are.'

Mr. Tamanegi, looked around the room with an evil smile on his face.

'Mmmm, oh yes. We will see, won't we? Who makes the cut.' he simpered as he gazed down at Ruriko. She lowered her phone and gulped as he leered at her.

After a few awkward seconds Mr. Tamanegi appeared to regain control of himself. Coughing into his elbow, he straightened and continued on as though nothing had happened.

'Anyway, today I want you all to fill out this form and indicate where you would prefer to attend. Bear in mind that certain schools, such as the hero programs at UA, have secondary testing that must be met, _after_ you have already met the general academic prerequisites. A high score alone will not guarantee entry.' he said looking over at Bakugo and Izuku.

As he passed out the forms, Izuku started to panic. It wasn't about the test itself - he was going to ace that - but about what school he would attend. He had been so wrapped up in his nightlife that he hadn't even considered his future.

He remembered what he had said to Bakugo about joining the Hero Support Program. He had entertained the thought, but that was before he had committed himself as a vigilante. They would work him hard. He probably wouldn't have the time to patrol anymore if he attended UA.

Mr. Tamanegi walked past, passing him a form. Izuku looked at it uncertainly. Once Mr. Tamanegi moved on, he felt Bakugo lean forward behind him.

'Don't even think about it Deku!' hissed Bakugo in his ear, 'UA isn't some stupid game or fantasy of yours. Just give up!'

Izuku twirled his pen in his hand.

_Thank you Kacchan. You just made my choice so much easier._

Izuku wrote: U.A. High School, Hero Support Program.

Izuku sensed Bakugo craning his neck to see what he had written but he blocked him. Marching past his babbling classmates, he stopped in front of Mr. Tamanegi's desk and handed him the form. He glanced down at the paper and looked up at Izuku.

'Are you serious?' he asked in a tired voice.

'Yes, I am.' Izuku replied, his voice full of conviction. Mr. Tamanegi just rolled his eyes.

'You know, when I was your age-' he began, but Izuku quickly interrupted him.

'Also, I was wondering if I could talk with the principal about this. I want to…ask her something.'

Mr. Tamanegi put his finger up to his temple and stared at him. Izuku stood his ground, his jaw set and his shoulders back.

'Fine.' he said disdainfully, 'Return to your seat. We can speak with Principal Sasaina together after class.'

Izuku walked back to his desk, a bounce in his step. Ignoring the stare that Bakugo was giving him, he sat down, his heart racing.

* * *

Once school ended, Izuku collected his wearily complaining teacher and together they entered the cramped office of Principal Sasaina. Seated behind her desk, she was busily clicking away on her computer. Izuku could tell from the reflection in the window that she was playing solitaire. Badly if that was even possible.

'Mr. Midoriya. What brings you to my office today?' asked the principal with false enthusiasm, not even sparing him a glance.

'Principal Sasaina, I wanted to talk with you about the High School Entranceway exam.' Izuku said, taking a seat in front of her desk.

'Oh, that's right. The exams are next week are they not? Study, study, study…' she said. She seemed completely uninterested.

'Y-Yes. I was hoping I could get a special recommendation from you for my High School Application. I want to attend UA.'

Mr. Tamanegi snorted and Izuku saw Principal Sasaina's eyebrows raise slightly. A faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Turning from her game, she looked at him and feigned interest.

'Oh? Well I certainly applaud your ambition to attend UA. It's a fine school. Mr. Tamanegi, do you think he can make it?'

Mr. Tamanegi shifted his feet, 'Yes.' he said in a pained voice, 'He has top marks. I'm sure he can qualify into their general education program with little difficulty.'

'Oh, that's wonderful.' Principal Sasaina said jovially before resuming her game, 'It seems as though you don't need my help then. Good for you. Now if there was nothing else…?'

'I don't plan on attending general education. I want to join the support hero course.'

Principal Sasaina shot Mr. Tamanegi a sharp glance. Izuku couldn't see his expression clearly in the window's reflection, but he definitely mouthed something. The principal sighed. Taking her hand off the computer mouse she at last gave him her full attention.

'It is admirable to set the bar high for yourself. However, in light of your…condition, I'm afraid that your participation in the Hero Program is impossible.'

Izuku took a deep breath. This was going to be difficult.

'Ma'am, I am aware that the Hero Program is inaccessible, but the Support Program isn't. Many support heroes don't have combat applicable quirks. I think that I could qualify based on my academic achievements…and my fitness.'

'Your fitness?' she said skeptically looking him over, 'Mr. Midoriya are you a member of the track and field club?'

'N-No.'

'Are you a member of any of our sports teams?'

'Not…currently, no.'

'Then I'm afraid I cannot recommend you without any extracurricular achievement I can point to as being a notable accomplishment.' she said shrugging slightly. Izuku felt his temper flare at her casual disregard. Didn't she realize what this meant to him?

'Ma'am, I think you misunderstand.' he said, carefully keeping his voice even, 'I've been training myself for the last year after school, specifically for this purpose. I _need_ to attend UA.'

Principal Sasaina pursed her lips, 'I don't mean to parse words with you, Izuku so allow me to make myself clear. I _cannot_ recommend a student on an extracurricular activity unless it has some basis in one of our _mandated_ school programs. Perhaps you should have thought of this earlier instead of waiting until the Entrance Way exams were only a week away.'

_I need to rethink my approach. She doesn't give a damn about me or my dreams. Maybe I could offer her something._

'Principal Sasaina I think this could really benefit us both if I get admitted to UA.'

She laughed, 'Really? I mean, of course it benefits all of us I'm sure, but-'

'No. I mean you specifically.' Izuku said leaning forward, 'Think about it. You could be the principal of the first quirkless student to attend UA's Support Hero program! I'm definitely going to qualify for UA based on my academic performance. And you may not believe it, but I am in great shape. Whatever physical examination they have, I can clear easily! Even without a quirk! I just need a little something extra to make me more visible to the selection committee at UA. that's all. What have you got to lose?'

She let out an amused snort.

'As I said, because you have not participated in one of our school programs, I cannot endorse you. I'm sorry.'

'Well how about we make one up?' Izuku said impulsively. The principal chuckled.

'Mr. Midoriya I think that-'

'No, wait. Hear me out.' Izuku said, a faint note of desperation creeping into his voice, 'How about I…take the standardized fitness test!' he said snapping his fingers, 'Base your recommendation on that. If I pass with flying colours then you can say I was a part of your fitness program!'

'My fitness program?' she repeated skeptically.

'Yeah! I can say you…pushed me to succeed or something. It's win-win! You'll look really progressive and-and forward thinking or whatever, and I can make it into UA!'

Principal Sasaina scrunched her face as she regarded him. Izuku remained still with baited breath while she thought it over. After a moment she looked over at Mr. Tamanegi then back to Izuku.

'In the interest of the school, I've decided to allow you-'

Mr. Tamanegi groaned and Izuku felt his heart leap in his chest.

'-to attempt the standardized fitness exam. If you achieve an exceptional score, I will write you your recommendation.'

In spite of himself Izuku felt his eyes water and he broke out into a broad grin.

'Th-Thank you! I-I promise I-I won't let you down!' he stammered, choking up as he spoke.

Principal Sasaina recoiled slightly, uncomfortable at his sudden display of emotion. She hated dealing with children.

'Well. Yes. Very good then. Off you go.' she said stiffly, shooing him away with her hands.

Izuku couldn't help but break out into a wide smile. Wiping his face on his sleeve, he exited her office before she could reconsider.

* * *

As Izuku walked home that day he thought about how he could complete the standardized fitness test well enough to be considered exceptional but not so well as to appear superhuman.

_The most difficult part will be the running test. If I remember correctly there is one endurance test and one sprinting test. I'll need to carefully pace myself. I should go practice tonight. I'll need to get the timing down._

He stifled a yawn as he walked up the stairs to his apartment. He had been awake for the last eighteen hours and it was going to be a long night. Unlocking his apartment door, he walked inside.

'Welcome home Izuku, how was your day?' his mom asked, sitting up from the couch and muting the television.

'Hi mom. Today was great! You know how the high school entranceway exams are coming up? Well I selected UA as my first choice!'

His mother's face went pale and he froze.

_I should have brought this up more tactfully. Oh, well. I had to tell her some time._

'R-Really? UA? What do you think are your chances?' she asked, a strained look on her face.

'Pretty good, I think. I've got the grades after all.'

'Do you…do you think that without a quirk…'

'Oh, I'm not entering the Hero Course Mom. I know that I wouldn't get in without a quirk. It's okay though.'

She looked at him in shock before bursting into tears. Rushing to him, she dove into his arms, crying into his chest.

'M-Mom!' sputtered Izuku.

'Oh, I-I'm s-sorry, Izu! I-I know how much you-you always wanted to be a-a hero! I wish there was something I-I could do, or if…If I could have done something different.'

'Its okay Mom.' said Izuku, tentatively patting his mother's back. 'Really! Besides there are more ways to be a hero than having my pro hero license!'

'Oh, I know Izu. You have a good heart! You could help people in lots of ways. You could be a doctor-' she began but Izuku cut her off.

'No, Mom it's not that. I've…

_Here goes nothing._

…decided to enroll in the Support Hero course instead.'

'Wha-What?' she said, pushing her self back so she could look at him.

'I'm enrolling in the Support Hero program! A lot of Support Heroes work in labs or in Hero Design Agencies, making gadgets and costumes and things. You know how I've always liked building stuff.'

Izuku stood their awkwardly as his mother slowly recovered. After dabbing at her eyes with her sweater, she looked into his eyes searchingly.

'B-But what about a quirk? Do you think you could get in?'

'Maybe. I asked Principal Sasaina for a special fitness recommendation. I'm hoping that if I can outperform the average student's fitness level sufficiently, I'll be able to argue that I can handle whatever challenges they have.'

'Oooh, I hope so Izu! How can I help you? Can I make you anything or-'

'No Mom, I'm fine. I've just got to do exceptionally well on the fitness test and I'll get the recommendation.'

'When are you taking the test?'

'Hm. I'm not sure. I'll probably have to ask Mr. Ijime tomorrow.'

He frowned slightly. Of all the teachers at Aldera Junior High, the gym teacher, Mr. Ijime was the worst. He had always treated him with contempt because he was quirkless.

'I-I'm sure you'll do fine. You've worked so hard already. I wish your father could…well anyway. Here, let me make you supper.'

He watched as his mother busied herself around the kitchen. Walking over to the couch he sat down and started flipping through the channels.

_I'm exhausted. As soon as I eat I think I'll call it a day._

'Oh, by the way Izuku. I received a letter today from the doctor's office.'

He felt the hairs on the back of his head stand on end.

'O-Oh? What did it say?' he said, trying his best to sound unconcerned.

'Apparently there is a new flu strain going around. It says that if you don't have a quirk you are at a much higher risk for infection. It's been a while since you went to the doctor anyway. When are you free? I can take you after school.'

Izuku's mind raced.

_If It's just an immunization, why do I have this terrible feeling? My instincts have never been wrong before. Just to play it safe I should refuse. But Mom will likely insist._

'Hm. Well right now I'm busy studying for the Entrance Exams. Maybe I can do it later? I don't feel sick at all Mom.'

'But you've been sleeping so much. It's not normal, even if you have been exercising a lot.'

'Well I-I need to study though.'

'Izu, it'll take twenty minutes.' she said exasperatedly.

'W-Well I'll think about it. Just, uh, don't book anything okay? I'm doing fine right now and I don't want to be…distracted.'

She let out a disapproving sigh, but she let the matter drop. Soon after she had dinner ready.

'Here, come eat while it's hot. You need your energy if you're going to be doing fitness tests now too. How are you sleeping Izuku? I don't wonder if you spend too much time on your computer…'

* * *

After dinner, Izuku told his mom he had to study and excused himself to his room. Locking his door, he donned his sleeping mask and ear plugs and went to bed. After sleeping a solid five hours, he awoke and prepared for his nightly excursion. Grabbing his costume and stuffing it in his backpack, he covertly snuck out the apartment while his mom was distracted on the phone.

He used to wait until midnight before he left for his crimefighting, but he soon realized that even criminals sleep and there was less activity in the dead of the night. After making his way down to the street, he drew his hoodie tight and jogged down to the subway station.

An hour later, he was clambering over a series of rusted metal gas pipes that ran haphazardly across the rooftop of a tumble-down dinner. Some members of the East Siders could usually be found eating a late supper here and he wanted to know if there was any new word of the beef between them and Speed Demon.

From what he had been able to piece together, Shocker and Speed Demon were crime bosses operating in the slums and each had control of their own gang. Apparently, they used to run in the same group of villains, "The Sinister Six", before Speed Demon left the group. Shortly after, The Sinister Six was broken up when their leader and all the other members besides Shocker was arrested. Ever since then, he had been operating on his own, dealing mostly in drugs supplied by a yakuza group calling itself the Eight Precepts of Death. Shocker and Speed Demon were in the middle of a war over territory to distribute the drugs, including Trigger. While they were both supplied Trigger by the same source, Speed Demon was using his chemical expertise to modify the drug to produce a more pleasurable high, driving business away from Shocker and his gang. To compensate for this, Shocker quickly attacked and captured as much of Speed Demon's territory as he could hold.

In exchange for the recipe for modified Trigger, Shocker offered to return Speed Demon's territory. Naturally Speed Demon refused and this lead to a series of skirmishes between the two gangs that had been ongoing for the past year. Neither side had the strength to destroy the other and neither side was willing to back down either. This had resulted in multiple murders and many more assaults across the slums this year alone. Izuku figured that if they couldn't take each other out than it was up to him to bring them both down.

Dropping down to the alley behind the restaurant, he snuck up to the open kitchen window and peered inside. As usual the sweaty cook had his radio blaring while he clumsily danced around the stove.

Hoisting himself up by his arms, Izuku deftly swung into the kitchen. Taking tiny steps, he tiptoed over to the counter separating the kitchen from the dining area and poked his head in just enough so he could see who was in tonight.

He recognized a couple of street level guys, but none of Shockers lieutenants.

Disappointed, he retreated. Sneaking out the way he had come, he crawled up a nearby tenement building to plan his next move.

_It's a pretty slow night tonight. Maybe I should head in early. Although I guess I could figure out the timing on my fitness run for Mr. Ijime. I'm sure I can find an empty lot or something around here._

Jumping off the tenement, he went off in search of a clearing in the midst of the concrete jungle of the slums.

* * *

Passing beneath the flickering yellow street lights, a teenage girl and her father were walking at a brisk pace. The girl had brown hair cut in a shoulder length bob and was wearing jeans and a faded red T-shirt. The man walking alongside her was wearing a button up, paint stained plaid shirt and worn jeans. The man had his arm around the girl's shoulders and the two hardly spared a glance at the squalor around them as they talked. 

'You didn't have to escort me home dad. I could have gotten home by myself.' said the girl reproachfully. 

'Nonsense! It's no problem. I'm happy to walk you back, no matter how late you stay at the library.' said the man.

'Well, I just hope this isn't making your job too difficult.' she said with concern.

The man waved his free hand dismissively.

'It's fine, Ochaco. How did the studying go? Did you get a lot done?'

'Not enough, I think.' Ochaco said nervously, 'I did some mock tests today and I didn't score very well.' she moaned, 'The exam is next week, I'm doomed.' Her father laughed. He had heard all this before.

'I wouldn't worry so much. You're a bright girl, much smarter than you give yourself credit for, you'll see. I'm sure you'll qualify for UA.'

She wasn't convinced. The more she thought about the Entranceway exams the more she wanted to throw up. Every year junior high seniors across Japan would write the exams in the hopes of attending the best schools they could, and UA was the most competitive school in the country. The worst part was that this test was only to qualify to _apply_ at UA. Assuming she qualified, she would need to write another test plus pass a practical exam to make it into the Hero Program.

'I don't know Dad. I heard there's a lot of math on the Entranceway Exams.'

'You've been studying night and day for the last month. I know you'll do fine. If anything, you're working too hard.'

She mumbled indistinctly in response. Everything her father was saying was going in one ear and out the other. Right now, her head was filled with equations, formulas, famous dates, and historic peoples. Continuing down the sidewalk, the pair passed by a brightly lit convenience store. Her father stopped outside the door.

'Hey, I know. Seeing as how you've been working so hard, how about we celebrate with a treat? C'mon, I'll get you something.'

Ochaco perked up. It had been a while since she had something sweet. 'Oh! Okay, sure!'

Walking into the corner store, he and his reinvigorated daughter started to browse the selection of baked goodies available, totally unaware of the armed men that had just parked outside.

* * *

_Maybe I should just head back to my neighbourhood._ Thought Izuku as he ran through the congested alleyway, _There's nowhere to practice around here._

The park had been full of used needles and broken glass and Izuku didn't like his sixth sense going berserk every other step. Running up the side of a high rise, he jumped onto the adjacent building's rooftop. Landing with a roll, he resumed his pace overtop the myriad of pawnshops, bail bondsman, and vacant storefronts.

_I suppose I could call it an early night. If I grab my casual clothes now, I might be able to go for a jog before school._

Suddenly he heard muted shouting coming from below.

Coming to a skidding halt against the tarred rooftop, he dashed over to the ledge and looked across the street. Through the window of a convenience store, he saw what appeared to be a group of thugs robbing the place at gunpoint. One of the thieves was gesturing with his shotgun at a man who was kneeling down on the floor. Apparently, he wasn't being very forthcoming with his cash.

_This could get ugly fast!_

Without a second thought, Izuku jumped down to the sidewalk.

* * *

While her father looked over the magazines, Ochaco was busy hovering over the baked goods. Even though the assorted pastries were probably stale, she was too hungry to care. She practically drooled as she considered the selection. A flash caught her eye. A glossy chocolate donut beckoned, its icing catching the glare from the buzzing florescent lights.

At that moment the doors burst open and three masked men rushed in. Ochaco bit back a scream as she realized what was happening.

'On the ground! Get on the ground!' shouted a man, wildly brandishing a revolver.

Ochaco immediately crouched down on her knees, her hands raised. She looked over at her father across the store. He had went down on his knees as well. Twisting his head around he turned and looked at her. She wanted to move over to his side but her father gestured for her to stay back with his open palm.

'Stay put' he mouthed over at her, his lips drawn thin.

Ochaco nodded weakly. She could feel her hands start to shake slightly as she watched the thugs move through the store. One of the men pointed his pistol at the cashier.

'Open the register! Come on, do it!'

The ashen faced cashier calmly opened the register and started withdrawing money from the drawers. While the cashier was taking out the money, another one of the robbers was going around the store. He approached a man by the coolers:

'Wallet, let's go.' said the man, gesturing with his shotgun.

The man kept his face looking down as he held up his wallet. The man with the shotgun snatched the wallet and flipped it open. Grabbing his cash, he let the wallet drop to the floor. Stepping past the cowering man, he strode over to Ochaco. Ochaco quickly looked down at the floor. Paralyzed with fear, she watched as the man's dirty runners approached her.

'Wallet.' barked the man, stopping in front of her. The barrel to the shotgun hovering near her face.

Wordlessly Ochaco held up her small, hand stitched wallet. Her mom had made it for her birthday a few years ago. The shotgunner snatched it from her hands and flipped it open. With a snort, he dropped it to the floor. She had only had some loose change.

Walking past her, Ochaco risked a glance as the thief began to walk towards her father. From over her shoulder she heard one of the robbers begin to shout at the cashier.

'Come on man, come on!' shouted the gunman by the register. 'What is this shit? Twenty thousand? Are you fucking kidding me?'

'Th-That's all I have, man!' stammered the cashier.

While they continued to argue, the man with the shotgun had reached her father.

'Hey, big guy, hand over the wallet.' he said gruffly as he stood over her father.

Her dad held up his wallet. The man snatched it and stepped back. Opening it with one hand he looked inside.

'What is this shit?' he said throwing the wallet back at him.

'I don't…I don't walk around with much on me.'

'Bullshit!' shouted the man, raising his weapon. Ochaco felt her heart stop.

'You stashed that shit in your pockets, didn't you? Come on turn out your pockets, let me see!' growled the thief.

Ochaco felt herself tense up as she watched her father fumble with his pockets. If she sprinted up behind him, and grabbed him…

Before she could do anything however, she heard the door to the store burst open. Twisting her head, she saw the masked gunmen who had been standing beside the cashier go flying past her. With a shuddering crunch he collided with the wall, his body limp.

Ochaco gasped as she saw a red and blue blur rush through the aisle. With a crash she heard the glass of the store window shatter as something was thrown through it. Looking over at her father she saw the man with the shotgun had spun around. He pointed his weapon at her father's head, a wild look in his eye, his finger moving towards the trigger.

'No!' Ochaco screamed, sprinting forward.

Shocked at the noise, the robber flicked the barrel up at her. Ochaco froze. Suddenly she felt herself get pushed just as the weapon fired. With a huff she hit the floor as the thunderous blast rattled through the store. She shut her eyes tight at the sound.

_I've been shot!_

However, she felt no pain. Slowly she opened her eyes. She expected to be looking at a gaping hole in her chest but there was nothing. Looking up, she saw a red and blue costumed man standing by her father, exactly where the shotgunner had been a second before.

Ochaco stared at the man. He was wearing a tight red and blue bodysuit. Minus the mask covering his face, it looked like something a gymnast would wear but shabbier, like it was home made. She wouldn't even have thought he was a hero in the first place if he didn't happen to be covered in muscle.

_Is that a hero? I didn't think they patrolled out here._

'Ochaco! Are you okay? Say something!' gasped her father, rising to his feet. It was then that Ochaco noticed how short the costumed man was. He was only slightly taller than she was. Shakily she stood up.

'I-I'm fine dad!' she called out.

Her father rushed over to her and put his hand on her shoulders. Pulling her into a tight hug, he let out a shuddering gasp. Only once he had squeezed the breath from her lungs did he release her. Turned back around, Ochaco and her father looked at the costumed man. He was leaning up against the wall.

'That was amazing! We owe you our- Hey! You're bleeding!'

The man was clutching his side. Between his fingers Ochaco saw blood drip and fall to the floor.

'I'll call an ambulance!' called out the cashier.

The costumed man stirred.

'N-No. I'm good. I'm sure it looks worse than it is.' he managed weakly.

Kicking the fallen shotgun over to the wall opposite him, the costumed man stumbled over to the door.

'Hey dude, wait!' shouted the cashier.

The costumed man turned, 'S-Sorry. It's a school night and I've got exams to study for. See ya'!'

At that he exited into the street. Ochaco and her father looked at each other in total confusion. 

'Who was that?' they asked together. 

* * *

Several minutes later, Izuku haltingly climbed through his open window, gasping sharply as his side brushed against the frame.

_Stupid shotguns, freakin' birdshot. I can't believe I got hit!_

Landing awkwardly in his room, he lurched over to his door and pressed his ear to the wood. His mom was sound asleep. Opening his door as quietly as he could, he snuck across the hall and into the bathroom. Turning on the light, he peeled off his shirt to examine his side in the mirror. Gingerly he unwrapped the loose bandage he had made for himself out of the sleeves of his hoodie.

Just to the side of his abdomen, there was a small bleeding wound the diameter of a pencil. Izuku pushed around the wound and winced as a sharp thrill of pain ran up his abdomen. He could feel the pellet lodged in his gut.

_Another 3 centimeters and I would've dodged it. On the other hand, a few centimeters in the other direction and I might be looking at a great big hole in my stomach._ _That's what I get for becoming careless._

Opening the medicine cabinet, he grabbed a small pair of pliers and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. Taking a fresh, clean washcloth from the bathroom cupboard he dabbed it into the alcohol before gingerly cleaning around his wound. He winced. The alcohol burnt like fire.

_I hope I'm not infected already._

Setting aside the towel he picked up the pliers. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself.

With trembling hands, he brought the pliers over to his side. Lightly he brushed them against his skin and he flinched at their cold touch. He would need steady hands for this.

Exhaling he placed the pliers back on the counter and stared at himself in the mirror.

'It can't stay in there, can it? What are you going to do? Go to the hospital? Tell them you fell down and got a shotgun pellet in your side accidentally? Stop being such a pussy Deku!'

Taking up the pliers again, he went back to his side. Gritting his teeth, he reached the steel tips into the wound. Ignoring the flaring pain, he concentrated on his work. After a few unpleasant seconds he felt the intrusive metal ball. With a grunt he pulled the pellet out. As the pliers exited his body, blood spurted from his wound anew dripping all over the tile floor.

Grabbing the wash cloth, Izuku did his best to stem the bleeding while he looked for a more effective dressing. All his mother had in the medicine cabinet was a small bandage, not much larger than a band aide.

_Well the wound is pretty small I guess._

Opening the bandage wrapper, he pressed the small bandage to his wound. Amazingly the bleeding around the wound stopped. Pushing his thoughts about internal bleeding and infection as best as he could out of his mind, he looked around at the mess he had made. The floor and sink were covered with blood. Grabbing some toilet paper, he bent down and started to wipe up.

_Real clever Izuku. So much for having unbeatable reflexes._

As he cleaned, he remembered the girls face as he pushed her out of the way of the shotgun blast. Despite himself he smiled slightly. It could have been a lot worse.

* * *

While Izuku was busy performing surgery, Ochaco and her father were giving their report to a doughy, round faced detective.

'So, then what happened?' asked the detective before biting into the gooey donut he was holding.

'Well he said something about wanting to head home early and then walked off.' said Ochaco's father patiently.

'Hmm. Mmhmm.' said the detective licking a spurt of cherry jam off his fingers as he flicked through his notes.

Ochaco turned her head and looked over at the paramedics as they wheeled a gurney past her towards a waiting ambulance. Above the neck brace, she could see that the man's lips were black and covered in sores. They were Trigger junkies, no doubt about it.

_They're probably using guns to rob stores because their own quirks are damaged beyond repair._

She couldn't help but feel sorry for them. She had seen first hand what Trigger abuse did. Trigger was spreading across the slums like a cancer. It was even starting to become a serious problem at her school. Hopeless kids with nothing to live for turned to the drug to have a taste of power and live like a big shot, if even for a few hours. She was just thankful that her parents had raised her so well. A couple of her friends hadn't been so lucky. The detective started speaking again and Ochaco turned her attention back to the man.

'So, you're in there, shotgun to your head, and this blue-red weirdo comes in. Punches these guys, then leaves after taking one in his side. That about right Mr. Uraraka?' said the detective between bites.

'Yes.'

'And you've never seen this guy around before? Maybe he's been around the block a few times, eh?'

'No. I never saw him before tonight.'

'Huh. And how about you Miss? Never heard of this guy? A man in blue and red?'

'No, officer. Never.' Ochaco said innocently. The detective curled his lip and gave her a crooked smile. Before she could stop herself, she scowled. She knew that look.

_Here we go._ She thought angrily as the detective let out an amused snort.

'Hm. You know-' started the detective.

Ochaco and her father adopted identical blank expressions. They had heard the police use this tone before.

'-I realize that you both might think this guy is some hero after what he did tonight. But he's just another vigilante out to make a name for himself. It's only a matter of time before we catch him knocking over one of these stores himself I bet.'

The detective paused to wipe his crumb covered hand on his cheap suit jacket. Neither of them said anything. The detective regarded them coolly for a moment before flipping to a fresh page in his notebook.

'What do you do for employment Mr. Uraraka?'

Ochaco glared at the fat detective, but her father kept his cool.

'I'm a contractor. I work in residential and commercial construction.'

'Yeah? And what were you and your daughter doing at a convenience store at nearly midnight? You working late tonight?' asked the detective skeptically.

'I was just walking her home from her studies that's all. She's been burning the candle at both ends, studying for her entrance exams.'

'It's a school night tonight is it not Miss?' he asked, turning to her.

'Yes.' she responded stiffly.

'Lot of young girls walking around tonight. I'm sure most of them would tell a cop they're just having some late study breaks too. How about-'

Before he could continue his questioning, another police officer gestured to him. Lowering his notebook, he frowned at the two.

'Well you'd better get home then. If we have more questions we will contact you Mr. Uraraka. You two can leave now.'

Ochaco and her dad didn't need to be told twice. Turning they started back down the sidewalk towards their apartment. The two walked in silence for a while before Ochaco couldn't hold it in any longer.

'Maybe if the cops cared as much about crime as they did they're donuts we wouldn't have so many murders in the neighbourhood.' she muttered under her breath. Her father laughed.

'Maybe. But to be fair, that was a delicious looking donut.'

'I don't see why your job was so important to him either.'

'Listen,' he said, throwing his arm around her, 'Don't let guys like that get to you. Just worry about your exams and one day you can be giving people like him their orders.'

'Yeah…So who was that vigilante back there? He mentioned school and exams. Do you think...?'

Her father laughed and shook his head.

'No, I don't. He was just trying to be cute.' he suddenly grew serious, 'I hope he knows someone who can patch him up though. He should've just gone to the hospital. Dying's worse then eating a vigilante charge.'

'Yeah.' Ochaco said worriedly. Whoever that guy was, she hoped he was okay.

* * *

'So, what've you found?' asked the detective leaning over the window of the forensic van.

The forensic officer, who was scrolling through his dash mounted computer, quickly stopped and looked up excitedly. His enthusiasm caused the detective to wince. Something was up and no doubt it was his problem now.

'Okay. So you know the blood sample we collected from the floor? The vigilante's?' the forensic officer started eagerly.

'Yeah...'

Well, we ran it through the registry and get this: His blood signature has been tagged as high priority, but there's no identity in the database.'

'So?'

'So, it's strange! How is the blood known, but the identity of the person whose blood it belongs to isn't? It's _weird_. Normally I would assume this perp was already on file with other crime scenes, but I just checked our records and I got nothing! Whoever this guy is, he doesn't exist in our system except as a general alert by the feds.'

The detective scowled.

'Just my luck. I always work the shit cases.' he grumbled.

'I doubt you'll be working it for long. This has some high-level fuckery written all over it. My guess? This'll all be transferred over to some big-name hero office. You can bet on it.'

'Fine with me.' shrugged the detective, 'You have the surveillance tape pulled?'

'Yeah, why? You want to watch it? It's pretty crazy.'

'Naw.' said the detective, scratching at a stain on his tie, 'Just have it ready for the higher ups.'

Pivoting away from the van, the detective let out a sigh of relief. He'd dodged a bullet there. As far as he was concerned, if someone else wanted to work his case then they were welcome to it. Hell, there were two dozen others they could have if they wanted. Whistling to himself, he started plodding back to the convenience store. There was a chocolate glazed beauty back there with his name on it.


	7. Try Hard

After a long, deep sleep, Izuku awoke with a start to his alarm blaring. Switching it off, he rubbed his eyes and let out a long sigh. Today was going to suck. Gallivanting around school like nothing was wrong while recovering from a gunshot wound sounded like Hell, but what other choice was there? He couldn't exactly tell Mr. Tamanegi he'd been involved with a convenience store robbery and ask for the day off. As much as he'd rather stay home and rest, he'd have to try and make due.

Carefully climbing out of bed, he preemptively winced in anticipation for the stabbing pain in his gut he was sure to feel, however to his surprise he hardly felt more than a twinge. Confused, he rose and went over to his mirror. Lifting his shirt, he braced himself for the worst and gingerly peeled back his tiny bandage. To his amazement though his wound had completely scabbed over. Poking around his abdomen, he felt surprisingly little. He was shocked. Even though he'd only been hit by one shotgun pellet, he had still been shot. Shouldn't he be half dead?

As he prodded his stomach, he stared at his reflection in bewilderment.

 _Did I really almost completely heal with just a half night of rest? I guess I can add an enhanced healing factor to my quirks list._ _Still I shouldn't push my luck. After school today, I'm going to take the night off. I think I've filled my injury quota for the week and I need to mend my costume anyhow. Besides, I should probably start studying for my exams too, I guess._

After eating a light breakfast, he grabbed his things and went to school. As he was making his way to homeroom, he felt his spine tingle. Someone was coming for him. Glancing back down the hallway he saw the squat, red faced gym teacher Mr. Ijime approaching him. Izuku groaned.

Mr. Ijime had always had it in for him. In contrast to his subtler co-workers, he proudly wore his prejudices against the quirkless on his sleeve and he seemed to delight in tormenting Izuku at every available opportunity. Whether it be by structuring his gym classes in such a way as to humiliate him for his "impediment" or by turning a blind eye to Bakugo's favourite gym pastime, he never seemed to tire of bullying him.

'Deku! Principal Sasaina tells me that you're retaking the fitness test.' barked Mr. Ijime.

'Y-Yes sir.' Despite himself, Izuku couldn't help but stammer slightly.

'I'm told you're trying to get a special fitness recommendation for UA? Well I've seen you run, and I can tell you that's not going to happen.'

Izuku swallowed.

'Well, uh, I've been wor-working out a lot and-'

Mr. Ijime waved his hand and scoffed, 'We'll see, won't we? After school today, meet me at the baseball diamond. I want to get this over with as soon as possible.'

'Oh!' exclaimed Izuku. Mr. Ijime turned and started off down the hallway. Izuku's mind raced.

_He wants to meet today? I haven't practiced yet!_

Composing himself as best as he could, Izuku called out after him.

'Mr. Ijime!'

He turned and looked back at Izuku with an impatient sigh.

'Um, do you think we can do this another day? I was hoping to-'

'No.' Mr. Ijime spat, 'You're on my time Deku, so I say we do it today. Don't keep me waiting.'

 _Great._ Thought Izuku bitterly as he watched the man disappear down the hall.

Muttering to himself, Izuku walked into class and settled into his desk. Even though he was no longer the weakling he used to be, for whatever reason he still hadn't gotten over his fear of confrontations with people.

As class started, his thoughts were filled with petty revenge scenarios against Mr. Ijime. It would be so easy to blow through the test and watch Mr. Ijime be put on his backfoot for a change.

 _He thinks he's so much better than me. I could fold him in half If I wanted to._ Thought Izuku bitterly as Mr. Tamanegi tried and failed to explain quadratic formulas.

_Him and Bakugo are the same. They think that just because they were born with some meagre power they can do whatever they want! If I wanted to…_

Izuku shook his head. Intoxicating though his revenge fantasies may be, he could never let himself forget what he had almost done to Bakugo.

_If my fight with Bakugo has taught me anything it's that no matter what I can't let anyone get to me. If I lose control, I'll only hurt myself._

Looking away from the floundering Mr. Tamanegi, he glanced over at the clock. It was over an hour until his first break. Sighing, he flipped through his textbook. It was going to be a frustrating day.

* * *

After what felt like an eternity recess came and Izuku ran off to the field to work on his timing.

_For the 100m dash I need to finish as close to eleven seconds as possible. As for the eight-hundred-meter run, I just need to pace out two minutes. If I run any faster, I might break some sort of record and I don't need that kind of attention._

Pacing out some distances, Izuku ran and timed his performance. He found that if he just concentrated on his counting and ignored his surroundings, he could set a reasonably consistent pace. However, try as he might, he was still much too fast.

Before he knew it, the recess bell chimed. Izuku briefly considered skipping class to work on his running but he didn't want to risk detention and miss his meeting with Mr. Ijime entirely. Izuku doubted he would let him reschedule.

Sitting back in his desk, Izuku impatiently watched the minutes until his next break creep by. It seemed as though every teacher was spending the lead up time to the Entrance Exams going over the coursework. Though most of his classmates were grateful for the extra study time, Izuku found the review periods maddeningly boring. As he waited, he couldn't help but obsess over his situation.

_I should have thought about getting into UA sooner! Why did I insist on the fitness recommendation without setting a date or anything? How can I possibly set my pace correctly?_

Izuku continued to practice over his lunch break and afternoon recess. However, try as he might he couldn't get his time to within an acceptable margin of error. Finally, he had to give up and head back to class. While his classmates were sweating over their geometry homework, Izuku was panicking over his upcoming race. In less than half an hour he would have to impress Mr. Ijime.

_I'm doomed! If only I had someone to race against this might be easier! Someone to set the pace! But I don't have any friends…Unless…_

Izuku scanned over his classmates. With the exception of himself and Bakugo, they were all likely to suffer intensely during the exam. It wasn't that they were all stupid necessarily, just that they'd had the misfortune of having Mr. Tamanegi as a teacher. For them the situation was dire indeed, as for the first time in their young existence they were encountering a barrier that could decide the outcome for the rest of their lives. Their parents, their teachers, everyone was telling them that if they wanted to be successful they _had_ to do well. To say that tensions were high would be an understatement.

Of all the students in Izuku's grade, there was one in particular who looked especially worried. The violet haired socialite, Ruriko. Academics had never been Ruriko's strong suit. She got bored with the subjects quickly and when she wasn't texting or surfing the internet on her phone, she was talking, doodling, passing notes, and whatever else as long as it wasn't school related. The only thing that she cared about near as Izuku could tell were the clubs she belonged to.

But for all her disdain for academic pursuits, even she had come to realize that this was one test that she couldn't afford to fail. Now that there was less than a week until the Entrance Exams, she had entered full crisis mode and for the first time in as long as Izuku could remember, she was actually trying to pay attention.

_She's the perfect candidate. All I have to do is convince her that I can help her study and maybe she'll agree to help me. I just have to…actually go over there…_

Izuku gulped. He was never any good at dealing with girls. For some reason he always tripped over his words and never knew what to do with his hands.

_Get over yourself Deku! You're a vigilante for God's sake, grow some backbone! You've stormed buildings and-_

'Stop mumbling, Deku!' hissed Bakugo from behind.

Izuku froze. He had a bad habit of talking to himself. Turning, he stared back at Bakugo in horror.

'W-What?' Izuku said nervously, 'I-I didn't say anything!'

Bakugo rolled his eyes and went back to his worksheet. Izuku gulped. Bakugo and everyone else had gotten used to his mumbling by now, but who knows what they might hear him say? He would need to control himself better in the future.

Taking a deep breath, he stood up from his desk and walked over to Ruriko. She sat all the way at the front, right beside Mr. Tamanegi's desk. Moving around to her side, he stood beside her and cleared his throat.

'Um, hey, Ruriko…'

She didn't seem to notice him. She was mouthing the words of her geometry problem, brow furrowed in intense concentration.

'Hey, Ruriko…Ruriko!'

Her eyes turned from the page and she looked up at him open mouthed. Her look of numb confusion gradually changed to one of surprise as she realized that he was talking to her.

'Deku? What do you want?'

'Hi, Ruriko. I-I have a proposal for you…'

* * *

Izuku and Ruriko stood side by side in their gym uniforms by the baseball pitch. Izuku was awkwardly swinging his arms and muttering to himself. He had never spent any time with any of the girls in his class before and he was unsure if he should attempt small talk or not. Ruriko was busily texting on her phone, completely oblivious him. If she found the moment awkward, she didn't show it.

Just as he was about to say something a door on the far side of the yard opened and Mr. Ijime came striding out. Scowling, he started to march his way over, a whistle around his neck and a clipboard in hand.

'Ah! Here he comes!' Izuku breathed his voice breaking slightly, clearing his throat he turned to Ruriko, 'So, do you remember the plan?

'Yeah, yeah. Just run as fast as I can and beat you. No problemo.' Ruriko said, tapping away at her phone.

'R-Right. Just try your best okay?'

'Uh-huh.' she said, tossing her hair.

Izuku took a deep breath and watched as Mr. Ijime approached. As he got in range, Ruriko dropped her phone down on her backpack and started to do some stretches. Izuku watched as she started to stretch her legs before quickly looking away.

_I guess I should go through the motions. This'll probably be suspicious enough as it is._

Emulating her, he quickly began to hop and skip around, trying his best to make it look like he knew what he was doing.

'Ruriko! Why are you here? Did you want a fitness recommendation too?' asked Mr. Ijime.

'Um, I wouldn't say no to one! I was told to come here and be a pace setter for Deku.'

Mr. Ijime frowned, 'So will you be doing the entire fitness test or-'

'No!' Izuku squeaked, the pair looked at him. Clearing his throat again he continued 'No, she just has to run the one-hundred-meter and eight-hundred-meter tracks. That's all.'

Mr. Ijime shrugged, 'Fine, whatever. So, are you two ready?

The two nodded.

'Okay. See that orange flag along the foul line? I paced out a hundred metres earlier today. Go stand by it. On my whistle, run from there to home plate. I'll be waiting with my stop watch.'

'Uh, okay do I-'

Mr. Ijime let out an exasperated sigh, 'Just stand by the flag and run when I blow the whistle, Deku. Get your head out of your ass. Go! Hustle up!'

Slightly frazzled, he turned and started to jog to the flag alongside Ruriko. As they neared the starting line, she turned to him.

'Mr. Ijime is such a dickhead, hey?'

'Y-Yeah.'

'You know, I've never really noticed before but you're actually pretty built, Deku. When did that happen?'

Izuku felt his face go pink.

'Oh, y-you know, I've been training for the last year or so. Running and-and swimming.'

'Huh. Well it won't matter cause there's no way you're beating me.' she said teasingly.

Izuku couldn't help but grin. 'We'll see.'

Arriving at the flag, Izuku and Ruriko turned and faced the baseball pitch. Mr. Ijime held up his watch to his face and placed the whistle to his mouth. Ruriko got into her sprinting posture and Izuku copied her.

A second passed. Izuku could hear Ruriko steady her breathing as she tensed herself.

_Just don't screw this up, Deku!_

Suddenly from across the pitch he heard the shrill note of the coach's whistle.

At that the two classmates took off down the pitch. In the corner of his eye, Izuku watched as Ruriko inched ahead of him. He kept his pace.

_I should try to win by around a half second or so. That should give me a good enough advantage._

In his head Izuku tried his best to count out his seconds.

_Seven…Eight…_

The diamond was coming up fast, Izuku looked over, he and Ruriko were neck and neck.

_Nine…Ten…_

Izuku put on a burst of speed, swiftly passing her. Crossing the homerun plate, he jogged to a halt. Turning around, he saw Ruriko cross the finish line herself. Her face was red and her chest was heaving. Putting her hands on her hips, she slowly walked around in a wide circle, her lungs gulping in air.

Izuku tried to look fatigued as he trotted over to Mr. Ijime.

'Time?' he asked.

Mr. Ijime looked up from his stopwatch. A deep frown on his face.

'10.54…that can't be right…'

 _Uh oh. Slightly too fast. This is no time to hesitate though._ Thought Izuku, sweating slightly as his back tingled softly.

'Woohoo!' Izuku said loudly, trying his best to sound jubilant, 'A new personal best!'

'A new school best, Deku. Hell, maybe a new record for your age group! Something must be wrong here. There's no way you cleared that time!' Mr. Ijime growled, scowling over at Izuku as though he had tampered with the watch somehow.

'We-Well I told you I've been training-'

'Shut it, Deku. You two stay here. I'm going to go grab another watch and see if this one's busted.'

Mr. Ijime turned and started off back to his office, muttering darkly under his breath. Izuku did his best to ignore the various insults he heard and instead turned to face Ruriko. She was now laying in the grass, recovering her breath.

'Good race!' he said chipperly.

Ruriko looked up at him and shook her head incredulously.

'Why aren't you in the track and field club Deku?' she said panting. 'Seriously, that time is incredible! Even without a quirk you could qualify, no problem!'

Izuku smiled uneasily but said nothing. Turning away from her, his expression quickly turned to one of worry.

_I'll need to slow down for the eight-hundred-meter run._

Eventually Mr. Ijime came striding out to the pitch. His scowl still firmly affixed to his face.

'Okay. I got a new watch. See the three flags?' He pointed to three separate orange flags across the baseball field. 'Those are paced out one hundred meters each. Run past each one, then pass across home plate. You have to run two laps. Are you two ready?'

Izuku and Ruriko nodded. At the blast of the whistle the two took off. Running alongside Ruriko at first, Izuku slowly pulled out in front of her.

_I'll just maintain this pace. This seems fast enough._

As he passed the first flag, Izuku heard Ruriko's breathing become more and more distant.

_She's just getting tired, don't slow down. If you start hovering around Ruriko as you run that would be really suspicious too._

Rounding home, Izuku looked over at Mr. Ijime. His expression of dull anger hadn't changed for the worse so he kept his pace the same. Before long finished his second lap.

'Woo!' said Izuku nervously between deep breaths, 'Well I feel pretty good about that one. Time?'

'158.43.' said Mr. Ijime growled. Izuku clapped his hands and whistled.

'Fantastic! I'm on a roll today.'

'Oh, really? A roll are you? Tell me: exactly when did you start training Deku because last year when you took this same test, you took over four minutes!' Mr. Ijime put his hands on his hips, slapping his clipboard against his knee.

Izuku started to fidget.

'I mean I've been, like, running every day and I, you know, I've been really consistent with my training, good diet, uh, yoga what-have-you.' he finished nervously, wiping his brow. He had started to sweat again and it had nothing to do with the run.

'What training? Be specific!'

'What training?' Izuku repeated weakly.

'Yes! What training did you do to become as fast as you are in just one year!'

Izuku gulped, wracking his brain for some answer. Suddenly it came to him.

'I used the All Might guaranteed zero to hero workout regime!' Izuku said, pounding his fist into his palm.

'What in God's name are you blathering about?'

At that Izuku started to recite the core tenements of a healthy body as outlined by All Might in his various interviews and appearances. After less than a minute of lecturing, Mr. Ijime threw up his hands.

'Fine! Whatever. Just shut up! Holy shit, you do go on, don't you? Let's just hurry up and get this over with. We still have the other courses to complete and I'll be damned if I'm missing the baseball game because of you.' he paused and looked behind Izuku, 'Ruriko, are you alive?'

Ruriko was sitting on the grass as she recovered her breath. Grimacing, she nodded weakly and got to her feet.

'I'll see you later Deku. Don't forget about our deal.' she said as she aired out her collar.

'Okay. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?'

Ruriko gave him a thumbs up. After gathering up her backpack and phone she made her way back to the school.

_That wasn't so bad. Thanks to her, I set a much more realistic time. I just hope the price I paid wasn't too high._

'Deku! Push-ups! Let's go already! shouted Mr. Ijime behind him.

Obediently, Izuku dropped down and started doing his push-ups. Every once and a while he would let out a grunt of effort or pause for a half second break, but considering how much he could lift he might as well have been lifting a pencil. Still, he had to keep up appearances. No doubt Mr. Ijime was suspicious enough already and he wouldn’t put it past Mr. Iijime to test for steroids or something if he did too well. However, despite the glowering gym teacher looming above him that was audibly grinding his teeth in incredulous rage, Izuku couldn’t quite suppress his rising sense of excitement.

_The hard part is over. That recommendation is as good as mine!_

* * *

Meanwhile in Tokyo, Dr. Akatani was sitting bolt upright in his chair as he read through the medical report. He had read it a dozen times already but he wanted to be sure there wasn't some sort of mistake. Apparently, an anomalous blood sample had been recovered at a convenience store in Musutafu last night. According to eye witness testimony, a vigilante had shown up to stop a robbery and suffered a chest wound in the process. Before police could arrive, he had fled the scene.

He looked over at his other monitor where the surveillance camera footage was playing on loop. The blue and red figure was moving too fast to capture on the poor-quality CCTV footage, but he could see enough.

For the past two and a half months he had been under constant strain. Despite the assurances of the budgetary committee to avoid restructuring until after the fiscal year, when the modified arachnid specimen hadn't been recovered he had his staff gutted. Nearly the entire science team was reassigned. As if that wasn't bad enough his lab was repurposed to different projects. For all intents and purposes, he was on paid suspension until he could be fired. But now…

Dr. Akatani opened his desk drawer. With trembling hands, he grabbed a bottle of fine scotch and poured himself a drink. The appearance of the arachnid blood signature was nothing short of miraculous. Somehow the spider must have escaped from the labs and bit a person. And of all the people it could have bit, it bit a quirkless individual. And of that minuscule percentile of the population, this person did not succumb to horrific bodily mutation, brain death, or any of the other grievous side effects of genetic modification, but had survived unscathed. Survived and manifested new quirks patterned after the insect.

_I've finally done it. I've created quirks! After all these years, I've finally done it!_

Downing his drink in one gulp, Dr. Akatani let out a satisfied burp before pouring himself another. He had some news for the budgetary committee.


	8. Greasy Meetings

Izuku and Ruriko were sitting next to each other in their empty homeroom. Their desks were covered in open notebooks and textbooks (most of them Izuku's) while they studied. It was after hours and their classroom was filled with a rare peace, disturbed only by Ruriko's muttering. Occasionally she would swear and start violently erasing some of her work while Izuku flipped through his textbook.

It felt weird studying for the Entranceway Exam. Aldera had been his school for years and he would be leaving it behind soon. He'd be lying to himself if he said he was going to miss the place, but it was a big change. For better or worse, him and his classmates had grown up together and now they'd be going their separate ways. Would they remember him? Besides Kacchan, he doubted it. Hell, Kacchan would only remember him out of hatred.

While he reminisced, Ruriko let out a tortured sigh. Laying her pencil down, she shook her head in resignation before facing him.

'Here I finished.’ she said in a drained voice, ‘Did I do this right?'

Izuku snapped out of his memories and glanced over. Ruriko was holding out her notebook for his inspection, a desperate air about her. Prying the notebook from her hands, he looked over her chemistry work. Grimacing, he shook his head.

'It's only half right. Remember if your units don't cancel out-' he started, but his words were instantly drowned out by Ruriko's squeal of excitement.

'Really? I did it right? Oh my God, I don't believe it!'

He looked back at her in alarm.

'W-Well, I mean you o-only did it half right. Your final answer is still wrong!'

'But like, it's a start though yeah? This calls for a break.' she said happily.

He gave her a weak grin as she slammed her school books shut with relish. For the past five days he had been helping her prepare for the Entrance Exams as payment for her help with his fitness test. Thanks to her, Mr. Ijime had no choice but to affirm his fitness claim and give him a recommendation. If all went as planned, he would get into UA after all.

Studying had been slow going at first, but she was steadily improving. As a side effect of helping her study, Izuku found himself an effective means of reviewing his own coursework too so it wasn't all bad. Unfortunately, his study sessions prevented him from repairing his costume, but he figured he needed to study eventually and helping Ruriko was as good a time as any.

'I can hardly wait for this all to end! As soon as tomorrow is over, I'm going to go to my room and just pass out.' Ruriko said sighing, 'What about you, Deku?'

'Yeah. Sleep sounds good.' he said, nodding.

Over the past five days he had been using his break from crimefighting to recover from his fatigue. He felt guilty for not patrolling the slums, but with his costume out of commission, there was nothing he could do until after the exams.

'So what school did you apply for?' Ruriko asked.

'I, uh, applied for UA.'

She snorted with laughter and he felt his cheeks redden. Upon seeing his expression, she quickly straightened her face.

'Sorry Deku. I know you're like, the smartest kid in school, but brains can't help if you don't have a strong quirk.'

'Do you really think that?' he asked sadly, 'Quirks aren't everything. Besides, I aced the fitness exam. That has to count for something.'

'Yeah but like, All Might can run as fast as a bullet train and punch down a skyscraper. That's the kind of power you need to make it into UA.'

'Not every hero has a super powerful quirk like All Might though.' he pointed out and Ruriko shrugged.

'Most of them do. I'm not trying to get you down or anything Deku, but that's just how it is. Like, you don't see me trying to become a hero with my weak ass quirk.' she finished bitterly.

He frowned at her. It was true she didn't have a particularly flashy power. Her quirk allowed her to see in the ultraviolet and x-ray spectrums of light. A side effect of her enhanced vision was that she had to wear special sunglasses whenever she was outside to protect her sensitive eyes.

'I think you could become a pro hero if you really wanted to.' he said earnestly and she scoffed.

'What? How? If someone wants to beat me they just need a powerful enough flashlight.'

'Maybe. But on the other hand, you can perceive colours and qualities in light that no one else can. You can see where electronics are, and harmful radiation. I think your quirk could be really useful under the right circumstances.'

She was silent so he continued.

'You know, people are always saying you need a powerful quirk to be a hero or to be successful, but I don't believe it! I think that as long as you try and do the right thing, put in the work, and are willing to carry the responsibility of looking out for the people around you, you can be a hero. Power or no.'

He noticed that she was studying him intently beneath her opaque glasses and he suddenly got embarrassed at his outburst.

'W-Well anyway, let's get back to your chemistry work. Here, how about you try balancing this formula…'

* * *

The next day Izuku sat with his classmates and wrote the dreaded Entranceway Exam. Predictably it had been as easy as he had thought it would be. After checking over his paper a final time, he turned in his test and returned to his desk. Shortly after Bakugo also finished and handed in his paper, a smug smirk on his face. With nothing else to do, Izuku began twiddling his thumbs and looked around the room. Everyone else was frantically scanning over their test, trying desperately to remember their notes.

Glancing over at Ruriko, he was pleased to see that she was at least writing in answers unlike her friends. They all looked like they were trying to decipher another language.

Mr. Tamanegi lifted his head up from his swim suit magazine and peered over at the clock.

'Two hours left.' he said, licking his thumb and turning the page.

There was a collective moan around the room and the sound of scribbling intensified. Yawning, Izuku put his head on his desk and started to think about how he'd repair his costume. Eyes closing, he drifted off to sleep. The next thing he knew, he awoke to the sound of scrapping desks. Jolting back upright, he guessed that Mr. Tamanegi had called the exam to an end. Stretching his arms, he watched as his classmates trudged up to Mr. Tamanegi desk, their shoulders slumped in defeat.

'I will have your results for you by Monday. Enjoy your weekend!' he said with sadistic cheer.

The bell rang and Izuku stood. While everyone began nervously questioning each other about this or that math or science problem, he silently gathered his things and left before he was noticed. Funnily enough, Bakugo was doing the same. No doubt he was thinking the same thing he was. If they stuck around, everyone would try and use them to check their answers. Once he was safely out of the school, he started on his way home. He couldn't help but feel oddly nostalgic as he walked the familiar route back to his apartment. Times were changing and soon he'd be leaving Aldera Junior High behind and become a high schooler. Sighing, he shifted his old All Might backpack and slowed down to enjoy the trip. Sooner than he would have liked he arrived back at his apartment building. 

'Welcome home Izu! How did the test go?' His mother asked as she busied herself around the kitchen.

'It was about what I expected.' he said, letting his backpack drop from his shoulder onto the floor. He sniffed the air.

'What're you making?' he asked excitedly. He had caught a familiar scent.

'Well I thought you could use a special treat for finishing your exams so I made Katsudon!'

'Oooooh!' Izuku said, advancing into the kitchen.

'It's not ready yet doofus! Go watch TV or something, I'll call you when it's done.'

Reluctantly, he went over to the couch and turned on the TV. Making himself comfortable, he navigated over to the disaster alert channel. What he saw almost made his heart stop. There on the screen was an enlarged still image of him in his costume inside a convenience store. He quickly turned up the volume.

'Police are asking for help identifying this figure. He is male, likely in his late twenties to early thirties and is of smaller stature. It is believed that he is involved in the gang violence within the inner-city area. If you have any information concerning his past or present whereabouts please call the villain alert hotline. The villain name assigned to this individual is Spider-Man.'

Izuku's jaw dropped as the reporter continued.

_I've been classified as a villain? Because I stopped a convenience store robbery? And what's with that name? Spider-Man? Why? Why am I called…._

A horrible realization creeped into his mind.

_They must know that I'm the one who was bitten by the spider! But how?_

Looking at the television screen, Izuku watched them replay the surveillance camera footage. He groaned as he saw a thin marking of blood on the floor.

_The police must have found my blood and ran it through the quirk database. Even though my identity wouldn't be in there, I'm sure they'd recognize whatever mutation the spider caused! Stupid Deku! Really, really stupid!_

Moaning, he dropped his head in his hands.

'Izu? What's wrong? Do you feel sick?'

He looked up at his mother and put on the best smile he could muster.

'No Mom, I just remembered I forgot something at school. I'll have to pick it up on Monday.'

'Well it's nearly ready. Come set the table.'

* * *

After dinner, Izuku turned on his computer and went to the Hero Board website. Sure enough, there was a tagged post about the new villain Spider-Man. Initially he was excited to read what people thought of him, but after reading through the comments, he quickly became annoyed to see that most of the discussion revolved around making fun of his costume.

"These street level villains always have the shittiest costumes IMO. He's just a rip off All Might but with none of the pizazz or power."

_I did not rip off All Might. It's called a homage! Besides, they were the spider's colours._

He read another comment.

"They set up a hotline for this twirling loser? Just check the men's jazz dance studio, you'll find him creeping around the change rooms in his leotard."

_I do not twirl!_

He shook his head as he scrolled down.

'Somehow it's fitting that this dork is called Spider-Man. I wonder if the long johns he's wearing has a bum flap for his web."

_My costume doesn't have a bum flap! And I don't have web either!_

He'd had enough. Scoffing to himself, he closed the page.

_I'd like to see these guys do better! I wonder what they would say if they saw me on the street! Well...they'd probably call the cops..._

Staring at his empty monitor, he considered what his newfound fame meant.

_I suppose this was going to happen sooner or later. I just can't believe that I was identified so fast! I'll need to be twice as careful from now on._

Standing, he went to his closet and took out the shoebox he kept his costume in. Opening it, he looked down at his ripped, bloodstained spandex.

_I mean…It's the best I could manage with the materials I had available. I was going to add all sorts of extra details...I think that if I had been able to make the costume as it appears in my head, the reception would have been more positive._

He put away the costume and opened his sketch book. Flipping through his many iterations of his costume, he turned to a fresh page.

_Spider-Man, eh?_

Izuku spent the rest of the evening redesigning his costume. The red and blue theme was fine it just needed a little certain something. On a whim he sketched a red spider on the back of his character outline. The extra detail went surprisingly well against his mostly blue back.

_I should improve my mask too. Maybe something more insect like._

He sketched in two white patches around a full mask for eyes instead of the ski mask style he had before.

_It's still similar to All Might in terms of its colors on the legs and arms, but its also unique to me with the whole spider theme. I think I really have something here!_

After looking over his drawing he sighed. He could come up with whatever design he wanted, but until he had access to a hero studio he would still be limited to fragile spandex. For now, he was stuck being the twirling loser.

Going back to his boxed costume, Izuku wearily grabbed it and took it to the washroom. It would take a long time to wash all the blood out in the sink.

* * *

Dr. Akatani arranged his notes before him as the meeting room filled with professionally dressed men and women. He tried his best to appear calm, though he couldn't help but feel jittery. 

The budgetary committee would fight him hard today and he had many enemies in this room. Until recently he and his program were officially slated for termination and all the funds for his program had already been reallocated to other projects (much to the delight of his colleagues who had their own projects to manage). But now with the appearance of Spider-Man he had a real shot at arguing for clemency before the executioner's axe could fall.

Besides having to deal with the fiends of the budgetary committee, he also had to contend with the ethics commission watchdog. Despite what their name might suggest, the ethics commission actually cared very little about proper conduct. Instead it was their job to ensure that his work was never publicly known. The problem was that they had always viewed his program as an unnecessary risk. After all, if his human experiment trials at Tartarus were ever brought to light, he wouldn't be the only one to see a prison cell.

Thankfully he had some allies in the room that he could count on to keep the conversation focused on the benefits his work could bring. Both the Japanese Defence Force appointee and the professional Hero Association Liaison were staunch supporters of his work in the past and he was hopeful that they would voice their opinions during the meeting.

He wasn't worried about unemployment. He just didn't want to lose his position. The JDF had always advocated for his research. When his program was dissolved following the arachnid escape they had even expressed interest in hiring him to continue his work under their administration. It was a good contingency plan but he had little desire to work for the military. Their facilities were crude and their bureaucracy was even more overbearing and inefficient than the federal government.

The Hero Association were also interested in hiring him but working with them would be pointless. While he would have unprecedented freedom to carry out his research as he saw fit, they didn't have nearly the budget to afford the staff and facilities he required to make any meaningful progress.

No. To have any hope of continuing his work, he needed to preserve his job and regain his funding. It was the only way.

As everyone finished taking their seats Jūyō Sekkachi addressed the room.

'Ladies and gentleman thank you for coming on such short notice. This inquiry has been called into the Quirk Suppression Program due to recent lapses in operational security. These lapses resulted in the escape of laboratory experiments, the loss of valuable government property, and the subsequent mutation of a quirkless individual into the being informally known as Spider-Man. Dr. Akatani, state your position for the record.'

'My name is Doctor Mikumo Akatani. I am the current head of the Quirk Suppression Program and I have acted as lead researcher in said program for over twenty years.'

The stenographer's fingers flew across her keyboard as she typed his words.

'Would you please describe, in detail, the events culminating in the security breach at your laboratory?'

Over the next hour Dr. Akatani went through the escape of the arachnid specimen. How improper transport and storage protocols enabled the escape and how it was possible for the spider to exit the building and bite someone. It was all a formality as everything he was saying had already been submitted in writing anyway. It was obvious that Sekkachi was having him narrate his report to the inquiry committee to frame this meeting as an admission of guilt on his part.

When at last he finished the Ethics Commission representative Mr. Nābasu spoke up.

'This is a disaster. We are past the point of partial disclosure. If the public were to learn that government experiments were attacking citizens in the streets, it will become an election issue. We will need to cover this up as quietly as possible.'

'If we are going to contain this we will need to move quickly.' said the Hero Association Liaison Mr. Gizen, 'The quirkless individual bitten by the spider, this Spider-Man, what can you tell us about him?'

Everyone turned back to Dr. Akatani.

'Based on the demographics of the individuals working in downtown Tokyo and the evidence gathered from the police at the first sighting, we can reasonably assume a number of things. First that he is a young working-class professional. Likely a contractor who has found employment with one of the many tech firms in Tokyo. Quirkless individuals tend to gravitate towards highly technical or technology focused jobs to combat their employment limitations. Second, it is likely that while he works in Tokyo he lives in Musutafu.'

'If he's already employed then why is he working as a vigilante?'

'Wish fulfilment.' said Dr. Akatani, 'At his age it may be impossible for him to become a professional hero. Or he already has a stable career and doesn't wish to disrupt his public life.'

'If that is the case he probably won't stay a vigilante for long. Most of those sorts of people turn to crime for their kicks, sooner or later.' Mr. Gizen said grimly.

'Where did the name Spider-Man come from?' Sekkachi asked.

'Spider-Man was a name created by myself following the police forensic report. Not very creative I know, but we needed to put together an alert as quickly as possible to identify the subject for the public.'

'That information should have stayed classified until after this debriefing.' Sekkachi said sternly.

Before Dr. Akatani could respond. Mr. Gizen interrupted.

'With all due respect sir, what's a name? He's already engaging in visible crimes. If we want to capture him promptly, then we will need to issue a broader alert anyway. We should formally request help from the Hero Association and attempt to capture him as soon as possible.'

'I would prefer that we settle this matter with more discretion. Having our heroes chase him down in the streets will raise too many questions.' Nābasu said quickly.

'What do you propose?' Gizen asked.

'We should rely on our government assets. General Mottaiburimashita, can the JDF assist with the search?' ' Nābasu said, looking over at a uniformed man.

'That depends.' said the older man, 'It will take some time to redeploy our assets and receive authorization to conduct operations in a civilian jurisdiction. It may be better if we relied on the police in the meantime.'

'Wait.' Sekkachi said, holding up his hand, 'We are getting ahead of ourselves. This meeting was called to discuss the future of Dr. Akatani's research not Spider-Man.'

'If I may, I believe that the two are one and the same.' Dr. Akatani said before anyone else could speak, 'Spider-Man represents the culmination of my research. In his body lies the answer to so many questions.'

Sekkachi frowned at him.

'By culmination of your research are you referring to the history of mismanagement and budgetary overruns that your work has caused? If so then I would agree with you! It will likely cost an obscene amount of time and money just to arrange for Spider-Man's covert capture.' Sekkachi said.

Dr. Akatani steepled his fingers and began to speak as calmly as he could.

'I cannot deny that the program has been expensive. And that the work has been much more difficult then anyone could have predicted. But that is why Spider-Man is so important. Even when I had unrestricted access to the inmates at Tartarus, I was unable to manifest or remove any quirks. However, by pure luck we have stumbled upon a prime candidate. An individual who has completely adapted to the quirk formula, albeit in a different form via spider bite. Mr. Sekkachi, if I were to have access to this individuals' body, it would accelerate my work to the stage where we could have reliable human testing.'

'Oh, I don't dispute the importance of capturing Spider-Man. As far as I'm concerned, his body is government property, but what I fail to see is why you would need to be included in any future research program in the first place. I'm sure there are other scientists-'

'Chairman, Sir. If I may?' interrupted General Mottaiburimashita.

'Yes?' Mr. Sekkachi said, frowning slightly.

'Sir, I don't think that now is the time to be rearranging our team so to speak. The fact is, that Dr. Akatani is still the world's foremost expert in his field and when we capture Spider-Man I want to have a working quirk modification program as soon as possible. Now you can fire him if you want, that's your call. But how much longer do we really want to drag this out? Ten more years? Another twenty? It took us half our careers just to get this far. As I see it you want this wrapped up just as much as I do, so let's just stay the course.'

'I agree.' Mr. Gizen said nodding, 'Quirk suppression is the future of law enforcement. Already we are seeing mass destruction of public property caused by individuals utilizing the drug Trigger. We need a means to combat these destructive quirks beyond simple imprisonment. If Spider-Man's body is the key to quirk modification, then we will need the research carried out as soon as possible.'

Mr. Sekkachi nodded resignedly.

'Very well. Mr. Nābasu what is your perspective?'

'Well…if we capture Spider-Man it would be best if we maintained the highest level of secrecy possible. Whenever we reshuffle personnel the likelihood of leaks increases dramatically. If for no other reason we should retain Dr. Akatani and as much of his staff as we can.'

Mr. Sekkachi was silent for a while.

'It seems as though everyone else has reached a consensus. Very well Dr. Akatani, I will arrange for your staff and research facility to be returned to you. However, your project will still be reviewed in March of next year. This meeting is adjourned.'

* * *

It had taken Izuku all Saturday to finish repairing his costume and by Sunday he was ready to take it back out on patrol. A laughingstock he may be, he still had to keep tabs on the slums. After an uneventful evening, he spotted two low level criminals he recognized having an argument. Normally that wouldn't be a cause for alarm, but what was puzzling was that these two men were part of Speed Demon's gang and they were standing in Shocker's territory. Given the gang war, he decided that it warranted investigating. Climbing stealthily down a storm drain, he carefully crept towards the two bickering men.

'Yo man, I bought you cigs the other day. Spot me one.' whined one of the men to the other.

'Yeah, because you smoked my whole pack. Buy your own.' said the other man turning his shoulder towards his friend who had started reaching towards him.

'Come on, you know they won't let me in that store no more. Don't be a dick.'

'No. Fuck off.'

'What a sad sight.' Izuku said as he clung to the wall. The two thugs jumped and whirled to face him. 'What's a few cigarettes between friends?'

'Oh, shit! It's him!' said one of the men, stepping backwards.

'Who?' she other thug said, eyes wide.

'That guy from the news! You know, uh…'

'Yes? Go on?' Izuku said excitedly.

'Spider-Guy!'

Beneath his mask, Izuku's grin disappeared.

'Eh, close enough.'

Izuku dropped down to the ground and the thugs turned to run. Before they could get away, he grabbed the two men by their jacket collars and roughly shoved them back into the brick wall. Falling to their knees they cowered beneath him.

'Hey cool it dude! We don't go a beef with you!' said one of the two men, raising his hands in front of his face.

'We'll see about that. Why is Speed Demon sending his goons around here?' Izuku said, trying his best to tower over them.

'What? Shit man, we're just here to-to hang out. Chillin' and-'

Izuku sighed and punched the brick wall. The masonry shattered, crumbling to dust. The two men grew pale, their eyes widening in fear.

'Jesus, calm the fuck down! We're not intruding or nothing! If this is your territory we'll split, peaceful like!'

'Why're you guys here? I thought if Speed Demon's boys were caught around these parts, Shocker and his crew would waste you.'

The two thugs looked at each other.

'Well, I mean. They're in, uh, negotiations.'

'What?' Izuku shouted in surprise causing the two to flinch, 'Since when?'

'I-I dunno. About a week? They're calling everyone back from the streets, putting an end to all the fighting. Speed Demon says he and Shocker can be partners again or some shit.'

Izuku put his hands on his hips and shook his head in disbelief.

'Why? I thought Speed Demon said he was never going to turn over his recipe for Trigger?'

'He ain't. They're just changing up how supply works. Shocker's gonna buy his shit from Speed Demon from now on, and Speed Demon isn't gonna bother with his own distribution.'

Beneath his mask Izuku's jaw dropped open in amazement. He never thought that was even an option.

'Doesn't that mean that you two are out of a job then?' Izuku asked.

'Well…we're with Shocker now.'

'Huh.' Izuku said, scratching his chin.

_If Shocker and Speed Demon aren't fighting. I guess that means that the slums won't be a warzone anymore so that's a plus._

'Where is Speed Demon now?'

'How should I know? He could be anywhere in the city in ten minutes if he wanted to.'

'Hm. What about Shocker, any clues?'

'Clues? Yeah I got your clue right here.'

The man grabbed his crotch and flipped Izuku the bird. With a sigh, Izuku leaned down and slapped the man, sending him face first into the cracked asphalt. His partner yelped.

'What about you? Any ideas?'

'I-I-I heard ab-ab-about some job in a greasy club on 80th street. I heard from another guy that he said there was this _other guy_ that Shocker needed taken care of.'

'A greasy club on 80th…? Do you mean The Slick Pimp?' Izuku wondered.

'Yeah, that's the place!'

'Hmmmm….'

Izuku stopped to consider this new information. From what he knew Shocker never got his own hands dirty so it was unlikely that he would show up just to take someone out. Still it was better than nothing.

'This other guy….' Izuku started, thinking, 'The one Shocker wants taken care of, what's his name?'

'I-I think it was Knuckle or-or Dusty or something. That's all I know, honest!'

'Knuckle or Dusty...Well, I'd better get going then.' Izuku said, turning around to leave. The thug breathed in relief before Izuku suddenly stopped.

'Oh, yeah. I almost forgot.'

Turning back to the thug, he gave him a fast jab to the chin and knocked him out cold.

 _I hope they don't card there._ Thought Izuku as he scrambled back up the wall and over the building.

* * *

Izuku studied the entranceway of The Slick Pimp. Somehow, the word greasy didn't do the establishment justice. Garish purple neon lighting lined the door frame illuminating hollow-eyed salary men in a flickering glow as they wordlessly marched inside. A giant, many armed bouncer leaned lazily by the door as he waved the desperate masses in. He was paying more attention to the tablet in one of his hands then to the unsavory clientele.

 _If I was in my street clothes I bet I could walk in if I wanted to._ He thought as he observed the foot traffic in and out of the club.

Looking up, he saw that the windows were all covered up by darkened steel shutters. No doubt to shield away prying eyes hoping for some free gratification.

_Maybe the front is secure, but what about the back?_

Slinking into the neighbouring trash filled alley, he saw a rusted, old fire escape bolted on to the side of the building.

_Bingo!_

Creeping up the side of the building, Izuku carefully dropped down to the top of the shuddering metal walkway. Leading outside to the fire scape, there was a faded, black painted door. Pressing his ear to the door, he didn't hear anyone over the pounding bass of the club. Slowly he tried the door handle but it didn't budge.

_Locked. Maybe I should break in?_

Gently, he began to prod around the wooden frame. The old wood buckled easily at his touch, but there was a secondary lock holding firm against the warped wood. He would need to destroy the door if he wanted to get in.

Jumping up the wall just above the door, he gripped the wall tightly and planted both his feet at the top the door frame. After a nervous glance around the alley, he swung down and kicked the door.

The rotting wood exploded at the impact. With a loud cracking sound, the door broke in half with the top half caving in just above an iron bar that had been bracing it against intruders.

 _Something tells me the fire inspector hasn't been here in a while._ Thought Izuku as he squeezed over the jagged remnants of the bottom half of the door.

He found himself standing in a stuffy room filled to the brim with all sorts of random clutter. Tacky pompoms, faded costumes, oversized stuffed animals, and cheap children's toys were haphazardly scattered around in old cardboard boxes. It would seem as though this is where the club stored all its old costumes and props.

_I can't exactly walk around the club as Spider-Man. If people recognize me they might call the cops or alert Shocker's guys. I need a disguise for my disguise. I never thought I'd ever be so popular!_

On a nearby clothes rack, he spotted a long, tan trench coat with matching fedora. As he slipped the coat over his costume, he suddenly caught a whiff of an overpoweringly sweet smell about the collar.

 _Hopefully this is a girl's costume. And hopefully they only danced in it!_ Thought Izuku, stifling a sneeze as he drew the coat closed around him.

Grabbing the hat, and putting it on, he completed his disguise.

_I look like a creepy pervert but considering the foot traffic outside, I should blend right in._

Navigating through the prop junkyard, he quietly opened the far door and poked his head into the hallway outside.

Glancing around he saw rows of doors alongside a carpeted hallway with a flight of stairs leading down to the club floor. Shutting the door softly behind him, he made his downstairs towards the pulsing rhythm. Unlocking the door from his side, he cautiously cracked it open so he could peer out.

Upon looking in, Izuku's eyes were immediately drawn to the tables where unenthusiastic looking young(ish) women in billowy, sashaying costumes were in various stages of undress. Seated around them were crowds of hungry eyed men who watched them gyrate and twirl while they sipped on cheap beer. The yellow stage lights illuminating the dancers gave the surrounding leering masses an unhealthy, sallow appearance. Despite himself, Izuku felt himself blush and his heart race at the sight of the girls. Closing the door, he considered his next move.

_There are so many people…Maybe I could walk around unnoticed. Would a masked man be so strange in a place like this?_

Before he could make up his mind he heard footsteps making their way across the carpeted floor at the head of the stairs above. Cursing softly, he took a deep breath and stepped outside.

The smell of cheap perfume, sweat, cigarettes and alcohol immediately assaulted him as he entered the club floor and he stood helplessly for a moment. He wasn't used to being out in the open in his costume and he felt extremely self conscious. Across the floor, he spotted the bar.

_Maybe I should ask if they know Knuckles there._

Tilting his hat low to try to look as inconspicuous as possible, he shuffled off towards the bar counter.

'Yeah baby, shake it, yeeeeahhh!' shouted a slurred voice that Izuku knew all to well.

_Mr. Tamanegi?_

At a nearby table Izuku was horrified to see his homeroom teacher, drunk out of his mind, leaning over towards a dancer. His fumbling hands were attempting to tuck a one thousand yen note into a hooved strippers garter he found his target. Slipping in the note, his hands suddenly darted up in an attempt to grope the woman.

'No touching.' said the dancer in a suspiciously deep sing song voice as she kicked him swiftly back down to his seat. Bouncing off the chair, he fell rolling and whining on the dirty floor.

While Izuku was stunned at the sight of his flailing, drunken teacher, a dancer came over to him.

'Hey there Mr. Mysterious, you want a private dance?'

Izuku barely heard her.

'Th-That guy is my homeroom teacher.' he said weakly, watching as Mr. Tamanegi tried to stand back up only to fall over backwards again.

'Oh, yeah? You know, I thought he looked familiar. I think he taught me too. Small world.' said the girl with a shrug before she walked away.

Izuku shook his head. Covering his masked face with his hand in embarrassment, he left his teacher behind to wallow.

Approaching the bar, Izuku sat on one of the stools next to a big man in a dark grey overcoat. Izuku was surprised to see that he was wearing a mask too.

_Looks like I'm not the only one concealing his identity._

Eventually the barkeep came up to him.

'What'll it be?' shouted the barkeep over the music.

'Um, I'll have a coke.'

The barkeep grabbed him a can and plopped it in front of him.

'Two hundred yen.' she chimed.

Fishing through his pockets under his coat, Izuku pulled out the cash he was saving for the vending machines at the subway station.

'Thanks.' he said, taking his drink, 'Hey, do you know a guy named Knuckle? Or maybe Dusty? I'm looking for him.'

The barkeep raised her eyebrow and smirked at him, taking his money, she walked away to the other end of the bar. Before Izuku could call after her, the man he was sitting beside turned to him.

'Knuckle? What are you looking for him for?' growled the man. He was a big guy and from the size of his arms, heavily muscled. Izuku didn't need his sixth sense to tell him that this man was dangerous.

'I was told he's in danger. Do you know him.' Izuku asked, unperturbed by the masked man's aggressive demeanour.

'Know'em? I- wait a minute.' The man looked him up and down, 'Hey! You're that guy from the convenience store robbery! I should-'

'Shhhh!' hissed Izuku glancing around, 'I'm not a bad guy! I was helping those people, I saved everybody!'

'Oh? Then how come the news called you a dangerous criminal?'

Izuku paused, 'Well, I mean, I am _technically_ a dangerous criminal because I'm a vigilante. But I'm certainly not a villain! Think about it, what kind of gangster stops a convenience store robbery of all things.'

The man looked at him again and Izuku stared back into his grey-blue eyes.

'Mmhmm. Well listen if you want to meet Knuckles-'

'You're Knuckles.' interrupted Izuku impatiently, 'I see that now. It's obvious-'

'I SAID if you want to meet Knuckles go to the parkade on 77th street. Wait on the third floor by the red graffiti.'

'What? Why? Let's talk here!'

The man ignored him. Turning back to his drink he took a long gulp and belched loudly. With an exasperated sigh, Izuku hopped out of his seat and went for the main exit.

_What a hassle. This is probably just a trap._

With a final look at the girls, Izuku exited the club and went out into the street.

* * *

Izuku fanned himself as he waited for Knuckles to show up. It was a hot night and his costume was getting sticky with sweat. To his annoyance the coat had wore had imparted its overbearingly sweet smell.

 _I really should start carrying a water bottle._ He thought as he drank the last of his coke.

Crunching the can flat between his hands he placed it into his pocket. He would put it into the recycle bin at his place later.

Rather than wait in the parking building, he was sitting on the ledge of a high rise a half block down. His perch afforded him with a vantage point of both the street and the red graffiti on the third floor. At least he hoped it was the right red graffiti. There was no shortage of it in that building.

_This has to be a trap. Why would he want to meet me all the way out here? I'm willing to bet that right now he's phoning the police hotline to get that reward._

But in the last ten minutes, he had yet to feel a single twitch in his spider sense. Finally, way down on the sidewalk below, he saw the big man in the overcoat slowly walk towards the parkade.

_About time he showed up._

He watched as the man entered the building and made his way up the levels at a leisurely pace. Eventually he stopped in front of the red graffiti and lit a cigarette. Izuku had kept careful watch while he climbed and he hadn't sensed anything.

_It looks like he's alone. I'd better get over there before he leaves._

Hopping down from his ledge, he quickly ran and jumped his was over to the parkade. Leaping from the rooftop of a single-story pawn shop, he arced over the concrete barrier around the side of the parking lot and on to the pavement. Walking between the parked cars, he called out to the man.

'Hey! So, you're Knuckle right? Why did we have to meet here?'

Izuku stopped several feet away from the man and looked him over. He was wearing a long overcoat over a plain black shirt and blue jeans. His half cowl masked shielded his upper face and head while exposing his stubble covered, chin and neck. From the way he carried himself, Izuku sensed that he had seen a lot of fights in his time.

'The name is Knuckleduster kid, and we're meeting here for some privacy. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not discuss business in a scumhole like The Slick Pimp. Besides, if I were in your position I'd be more concerned about keeping my head down right now. The cops seem to have a real hard on for you.'

Knuckleduster lit another cigarette before he continued.

'Y'know, cops wouldn't care about some vigilante charge over a robbery. You must've done something to get so much heat…' he glared over at Izuku who started to fidget under the older man's gaze.

'I-I don't know why they're after me.' Izuku lied, 'Maybe I'm eating into someone who's on the take's profits or something.'

Knuckleduster nodded but said nothing. After taking a long drag on his cigarette he spoke.

'So, what do you want?' he asked.

'I, uh, came over to find you because I heard from some of Speed Demon's former henchmen, uh…You've heard of him right?' Knuckleduster nodded so Izuku continued, 'Well apparently you're being targeted by Shocker and his guys.' he finished. Knuckleduster snorted.

'So what else is new? They've been after me for a while.' Knuckleduster said taking another drag on his cigarette.

'Why?'

The large man chuckled.

'I've been following the Trigger craze for a lot longer than anyone else, understand? Way before the media labeled it a crisis. Whenever I find a dealer, I beat him down and torch his stash. Simple as that. The local gangs don't like me too much. How're you mixed up in all this, kid?'

'I'm not a kid! I just have a…small frame, that's all. And I've been trying to bring down Shocker and Speed Demon for a while now too.'

Knuckleduster snorted. 'Small framed? Yeah, okay. Listen _Spider-Man_ ,' he said mockingly, 'If I were you, I'd back off for a while, you're clearly in over your head. Between the police and the thugs, you won't last another week out here.'

Izuku bristled, 'I've been doing all right so far, _Knuckleduster_. And the police couldn't catch anybody in this part of town. So, you'll excuse me but, uh, I think I'll be okay.'

Knuckleduster shook his head.

'You don't get it do you? The reason the police don't catch criminals around here isn't because they can't chase them down, it's because they know there's no point. Which is why them setting up a hotline should scare those tights right off of you. I don't know who you pissed off, but the police are going to be coming for you hard. Hell, we might even see some up and coming young hero's try and take you down.'

'I haven't noticed any extra police presence lately.' Izuku said nervously.

'It'll come. They're probably collecting information on you right now. Figuring out your patterns, where you live, where you like to hang out, and then bam!' he said punching the palm of his hand, 'You'll never see 'em coming.'

Izuku was silent for a few moments.

'Well, I can't just hide. I've got a responsibility to help the people in the slums. Besides, maybe if there's a police crackdown in this area, then Shocker and Speed Demon will get arrested.' Izuku said hopefully.

Knuckleduster burst out laughing. Izuku scowled and crossed his arms while Knuckleduster's loud braying laughter echoed and boomed throughout the parkade. Leaning against a pillar, he gasped for air to recover himself before breaking into fresh hysterics. Finally, after a solid minute he wiped his eyes and stood up.

'S-See, I guessed you weren't from around here kid. The way you're talking in all, the way you carry yourself. But after hearing that.' He leaned back and exhaled, fighting back a fresh wave of guffaws, 'Man. You're one wacky kid. Where'd you grow up? Some boring suburb in a nice two-story house with a double garage and a loving mother and father? You should go back home, leave the gangs to the adults.'

Izuku felt his face go red. Swallowing back his anger he composed himself as best he could.

'This isn't a vacation for me. I'm not running around looking to have fun. I was shot protecting the people out here! And I'm not going to give up just because the police and the government are so corrupt that they'd rather chase down someone helping people rather than go after the drug dealers and murderers in their own backyard!'

Izuku looked away and took a few calming deep breaths. He immediately felt embarrassed for his outburst, but it was true. He was so frustrated by law enforcement that he couldn't put it into words. He knew that being a vigilante was illegal, but he was doing nothing except make the streets safer! Did _everyone_ have to be his enemy? 

While he regained his composure, Knuckleduster lit another cigarette and frowned.

'Okay. Maybe you're not out here for kicks kid, but you might just be crazy instead. I tell you one thing, if you keep this up, you're going to rush into a suicidal situation and get yourself killed.'

Izuku snapped his head back to Knuckleduster and opened his mouth to argue but the older man raised his hand placatingly.

'Like I said, I've been doing this for awhile and I've seen guys like you before. They think they can carry the weight of the world on their shoulders and before they know it, that weight crushes them. Happens every time.'

'Whatever.' Izuku said, waving the advice away, 'Listen, I'm looking for Shocker. I've been looking for him for a while now but I can't find his home base. Do you know where he is?'

'No, I don't. A guy like him doesn't have a "home base". He roams from safe house to safe house. Besides even if I knew I wouldn't tell you. You may think you're a badass kid, but Shocker is ice cold. A real professional killer. Even some of the top pro heroes would have a tough time with him.'

'He's just a two-bit thug with a costume.' Izuku said dismissively and Knuckleduster sighed.

'He's not some high profile, theatrical villain you see on the news, it's true. But that's because he's too busy making money and running his little empire to waste his time flipping over cars downtown. He's not weak, he's smart. And you aren't the first guy to try to bring him down either.'

'Well thanks for nothing. I'm guessing you don't want my protection so I'll leave you be.' Izuku said walking away from the man. Before he could leave Knuckleduster called out after him.

'Hey, Spider-Man!'

Izuku turned.

'What?'

'Listen. You've probably had a rough night. Take some time and think over what I said. If you ever want to meet again, tag this wall here with some blue spray paint.' he gestured over at the red marked wall, 'I check this wall every morning. If I see your mark, I'll be here at midnight.'

'Fine.' Izuku said, shrugging.

Turning he jumped out the barricade and took off across the rooftops. He still had to make his rounds yet and it was getting late.


	9. Recon

After his meeting with Knuckleduster, Izuku couldn’t stay focused. Even on his patrol he was muttering to himself constantly about what he had done. In retrospect, it had been a terrible risk to talk with anyone (how did Knuckleduster know he was underage? He wasn’t _that_ small), but he had learned so much. Still though, the encounter left him worrying all night. The next morning, his fretting continued. Knuckleduster seemed to know the streets and he appeared to be on the level. But even so, you couldn't trust a vigilante. Or at least, that's what he had always heard anyway. Then again, he was a vigilante and he was a good guy...

Still mumbling to himself, he blindly walked into his homeroom.

‘…damn costume…”put away your tights”…ugh, I wish there was a sewing room in this stupid schoo-‘

He froze. All his classmates were staring at him. Normally on Mondays everyone was scattered around with their clique, chatting loudly about their weekend. But not today. Today they were all seated and silent.

'Uh-' he started.

However, nobody said anything. Instead they just glanced at him before turning to each other. Several students let out audible sighs and a few even slumped down and rested their heads on their desks. For a moment, Izuku was confused before he remembered the Entrance Exams. No doubt everyone was anxious to learn what their marks were.

_I really should stop muttering to myself._

Going to his desk, he quietly took his seat. The aura of dread was palpable as everyone waited for the arrival of their teacher. Mr. Tamanegi never really had a set schedule for when he arrived so there was no telling when he’d show.

The minutes crawled by with only the occasional cough to interrupt the stressful silence. Before long, the class heard more footsteps and everyone tensed, but it was only Bakugo. Bakugo seemed completely unconcerned by the stressful atmosphere, and calmly went for his desk behind Izuku. He probably didn't have the faintest doubt in his mind that he passed with flying colours.

 _I guess if I were him I wouldn't worry either. I don't think Bakugo has ever failed a test._ Izuku thought begrudgingly.

Suddenly, Mr. Tamanegi stumbled into the room. Izuku resisted the urge to laugh. It seemed as though Mr. Tamanegi had a little too much to drink the other night. That or he was still feeling the clobbering that stripper had given him (probably both).

'Shhhhhh…Everyone, please be quiet.' Mr. Tamanegi whispered to the already deathly silent room, 'I'm feeling slightly under the weather this morning.'

The class watched as their bleary-eyed teacher shuffled across the room to his desk. Settling down into his old office chair, he winced as the chair squeaked. Opening up his desk drawer, Izuku heard him pour something into his coffee before taking a big sip. Everyone glanced at each other. They had seen this before. It meant that first period was going to be spent in "reading time".

'Um, Mr. Tamanegi?' Ruriko ventured nervously.

Mr. Tamanegi moaned.

'Please, Ruriko. Not now. I beg of you.' he said, setting his head down on his desk.

'But…But… Mr. Tamanegi. We need to know how we did on our tests!'

The rest of the class started murmuring in agreement. Though hardly loud, Mr. Tamanegi recoiled at the sound.

'Ahhhhhh….' he whined, putting his fingers in his ears and shutting his eyes, 'Okay, okay, okay. Just pipe down, will you? Here…'

Opening up his briefcase, he took out a sheaf of paper and placed it in front of him.

'Enjoy.' he mumbled as he pulled his jacket over his head.

The room was still for a heartbeat before everyone burst out of their chairs and stampeded towards the paper. Pushing and shoving they all frantically tried to grab the sheet to see what their marks were.

Bukugo and Izuku remained sitting as the battle unfolded in front of them.

'Even if you aced this test you still won't get into UA, Deku. You'll never get past the practical exam.' Bakugo said.

'Oh? I thought that the practical exam for the Support Hero's was a test of ingenuity and mental flexibility. Seems right up my alley.' Izuku said over his shoulder and Bakugo sneered.

'Ingenuity and flexibility _using your quirk_ , Deku. So, unless you suddenly evolve to everyone else's level, I think you'd better prepare yourself for disappointment.'

'We'll see. Hey! I thought you were ignoring me?' Izuku said, twisting around 'Getting lonely?'

Bakugo rolled his eyes. Before Izuku could say anything else he heard a high-pitched squeal. Turning he saw Ruriko rush towards him.

'I passed!' she said excitedly, 'I don't believe it! I passed! Deku, I did it!'

'G-G-Good for you Ruriko!' stammered Izuku as the girl ran up to him, "I knew that if you just focused-'

'It's all thanks to you, Deku!' she cried as she pulled him into an awkward hug.

'Th-Th-Thanks!' Izuku said weakly as Ruriko did her best to squeeze the life out of him. He was about to extract himself from her grasp until he heard Bakugo scoff behind him. At that he suddenly put his arms around her and hugged her back.

'Come on, Deku. Aren't you curious to see what you got?' Ruriko said happily as she pulled herself back.

'Maybe a little I guess.'

'Well come on! You too Bakugo, don't just sit there sulking. Come see!'

At that Izuku and a grumbling Bakugo made their way up to see their marks. Slipping past his classmates, Izuku saw that both he and Bakugo scored within the top ten percentile of the national average, the highest bracket.

'I wish they said what your mark was specifically.' Bakugo said, glaring down at his name.

'Yeah…' Izuku said as he looked at the paper. Ruriko meanwhile was still ecstatic.

'My parents are going to freak out, Deku! I can actually go to my first choice now! Hey, maybe we should-'

Suddenly Mr. Tamanegi started shrieking from beneath his jacket.

'Eeeee! Please! No more! Everyone, if you all return to your desks quietly I promise we can have a movie day this Friday or something. Just, for the love of God, shut up!'

At that the class returned to their seats. Dropping his head to his desk, Izuku made himself comfortable as he prepared for a nap.

_A secret nightlife, strip clubs, an appreciation for naps. Me and Mr. Tamanegi actually have a lot more in common than I would have thought._

* * *

Now that the gang war over, Shocker wasted no time in expanding his territory across the entire slums, taking control of everything from drugs and prostitution to illegal gambling and fraud. With a significant amount of manpower and resources at his disposal, he seemed more powerful than ever. But Izuku refused to give up his crusade.

Following his meeting with Knuckleduster, Izuku spent the next three months disrupting Shockers operations wherever he could find them. Whether it be by just beating up his men or by destroying his drugs, he tried his hardest to cause him as much financial damage as possible. But after countless nights of running around in circles, chasing down the same guys over and over, his cause seemed hopeless. He would never accomplish anything going after the dimwitted goons he was hitting. He needed to attack the upper levels.

Then one day he got a big break. After interrogating one of Shockers enforcers he learned that there was a private club located in a high rise, near the outskirts of the slums that catered to the rich and powerful who had discretion in mind. Reportedly, it was quite the lucrative business for Shocker and if it were to be compromised, his reputation would be badly damaged.

And so, Spider-Man went out to his next target, unprepared for just how depraved the city truly was.

* * *

Panicking men and women in various states of undress cowered beneath Izuku as he stalked past them towards the wall. Opening the emergency firehose box, he pulled out the thick nylon rubber hose.

'Come on man! What are you doing? Hey! You hear me?' shouted a bloodied man, his satin clothes ripped and torn. Struggling, he attempted to rise to his feet. However, the floor was littered with debris from the recent battle. Slipping on the water from the destroyed aquarium, he fell back down, swearing under his breath.

Stepping over the unconscious thugs and scattered bullet casings, Izuku dragged the firehose across the faux mahogany floor towards the fallen man. Wordlessly he hauled him to his feet and pushed him up against a giant, tacky statue of a nude woman. Swinging the firehouse around the statue, he started to tie the protesting man against it.

'Hello? You understand me? I don't have nothing to do with this! I-ack!'

At last the firehouse was wrapped tightly around him. Like a giant white python, it secured him firmly to the heavy plaster figure. Nodding in satisfaction, Izuku turned to his prisoner.

'There we go. Nice and comfortable. Now, I have a few questions for you, if you don't mind.'

'Fuck you Spider-Freak. Let me out of this.' spat the man, struggling in vain against the thick rubber hose. Izuku ignored him.

'First,' started Izuku crossing his arms, 'I want to know who you pay your rent to.'

'Pay? This is my joint, I'm an independent entrepreneur!'

'Yeah, you're a real businessman. But independent? No way. You're practically running a pharmacy in here and I'm guessing a delicate guy like you can't attract the kind of goons you had protecting this place. You must be working for somebody and we both know who controls the drugs and muscle in this part of town, so talk! Who's your boss?'

'If you know already then why're you asking me?' hissed the man angrily. Izuku raised his hand and the man's face paled.

'Take it easy! I work for Shocker okay? I pay him a lease to run my cathouse, you happy? If you got beef with him, then leave me out of it. I'm just an entertainer.'

'An entertainer?' Izuku repeated.

Over the months the squalor and misery he had seen in the streets of the slums had hardened Izuku considerably. He had come across young overdose victims his age. Dead for days and rotting, lying in the gutter like trash. He had watched people abandon their sanity and go on suicidal Trigger rages, attacking everyone they came across. He had even observed desperate teenagers like him sell their bodies to afford their next hit. But even so, the barbarity of what he had seen at this underground brothel had turned his stomach.

Seeing the murderous look in Izuku's eyes, the man started to struggle anew, a frantic look on his face.

'L-Look, I-I just give the people what they want, that's all.' pleaded the man.

Izuku let the matter drop. He still needed information.

'So, you pay Shocker. But which one of his guys collects? A place like this must generate quite a bit of revenue.'

'I-I go to him.' Izuku felt his pulse quicken, 'He get's the word out to me when he wants to meet and at the end of every month I bring him his due.'

'Where?' Izuku asked eagerly.

'We-We meet at an import/export office, Max Shipping.'

'Does he have an office there?' Izuku asked, unable to keep the rising excitement out of his voice.

'Fa-Far as I know.' said the man uncertainly.

Izuku stepped back.

_This is it! Finally, the break I've been looking for. If I hurry, maybe I can catch him there! Or maybe I can pick up some clue. Either way, I'm closing in on you Shocker!_

Izuku looked back at the man he had tied up. When he had first learned about the secret club he had expected to find the usual trash. Roided up tough guys and wanna be gangsters, and he had found those to be sure, but he had also found "respectable" people as well. A senior manager for a bank downtown, a prominent lawyer, and his most prized discovery, a city councilman.

The pimp turned his stomach. Looking away from him, Izuku considered the club's clientele. They were scattered around the room, hiding behind the furniture or their whores. With nowhere to run they merely watched him in frightful silence. They made him sick as well.

Just moments ago, all of them had been happily indulging themselves in their especially acquired tastes. Delivered to them, with courteous professionalism by the loathsome predator caught helplessly before him. For a brief moment, Izuku indulged himself and imagined what would happen if he were to turn the tightly wrapped hose on. It would be but a small recompense for the debauchery and misery he was responsible for.

Izuku suddenly felt himself become dizzy with nausea as he remembered what he had seen in the backrooms. What he had smelled. Swallowing back his bile, he took a deep breath.

_I'm not a murderer. I'm a hero. I caught him already. I'm not a murderer._

Leaning down, he grabbed a discarded cell phone from the floor. Whoever it was, had been in the middle of a text message to his wife telling her that he was going to have to spend the night at the office. Shaking his head, he looked back at his sweating prisoner.

'I'll give you one chance to save yourself. Here, tell them everything. You'd better not leave anything out.' Izuku said as he dialed the Spider-Man hotline number. Holding the phone up to the man, he waited while the man talked.

During the man's stammering confession, Izuku saw a few of the more desperate patrons try and escape. He didn't bother chasing them. There were only two ways out and he had already blocked the front entrance. The second way involved a ten story fall and he was willing to oblige them that escape if they preferred. Eventually the man finished.

'Is Spider-Man still standing with you?' asked the voice on the other end of the phone.

'Y-Yes He's right here.'

'Can you put him o-'

Izuku crushed the phone in his hand. He wasn't so stupid as to taunt the police.

'So, what are-'

Before the man could continue Izuku punched him with a left hook. He hit him harder than he had to, pulverising his jaw and knocking out half his teeth in the process.

_That ought to buy me some time. Unless they give him a pen, I've probably bought myself twenty-four hours at least. After school, I'll head over to Max Shipping and put an end to this._

The patrons around the room screamed as the man slumped over against the firehose, blood pouring from his ruined mouth. Clearing his throat, Izuku addressed the room.

'Well, have a pleasant evening everybody.' he called out and everyone cowered over again, 'Better get to work on those alibis. And if you get thrown in jail tonight just remember to thank your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man.' Izuku said cordially before climbing out the black tinted window.

As soon as he left he heard panicked shouting fill the room.

_They'd better hope they get thrown in jail._

* * *

By the time Izuku reached his apartment it was almost seven o'clock in the morning. Unlocking his apartment door, he stepped inside.

'Izu? Is that you?'

'Yeah Mom it's me. I just went out for a morning run.'

Taking of his shoes and entering the kitchen, he saw his mother busily cooking some eggs on the stove top. She glanced over at him.

'Well breakfast should be ready-'

Before she could continue he gave his mother a hug from behind.

'Izuku! You're covered in sweat! You're going to get me dirty!' said his mother in surprise.

'Sorry Mom. I'll go have a shower.'

Quickly turning away so she couldn't see his face, he went to the washroom and cleaned himself up. It was going to be a long day at school.

That evening Izuku went out to scout the Max Shipping building. He didn't know what he would find, but his spider-sense was tingling. Whatever it was, he got the sense that he would need to be ready for anything.

Izuku crouched down under the hissing vents as a helicopter flew overhead. Briefly its spotlight passed over him, but it was only for a moment, too fast for the pilots to notice him.

 _More helicopters with thermal cameras. I guess I'll add thermal camouflage to my costume wish list._ Thought Izuku as his spider sense returned to a dull throb.

Climbing out from underneath the hot vents, he jumped down into the alleys to continue on the street level. Turning off from around an intersection, he saw a police cruiser driving away from him. The police presence was especially high tonight.

Before heading out, Izuku had taken the time to read the news. While city hall and the police were trying to downplay the controversy, there was only so much they could spin and the media was in a frenzy. Illegal drug use and sex scandals weren't unheard of vices amongst the city's elite but human trafficking? To make matters worse it was an election year in Musutafu and several of the people found at the brothel had been close friends with the mayor. As Izuku hid from another low flying helicopter he felt a certain grim satisfaction. He must have made someone important nervous.

Finally, he came upon the Max Shipping company building. It had taken him three times longer than it should have to get there but better safe than sorry. He didn't want to risk any interruptions tonight.

The Max Shipping building appeared to be a typical small business. It was a two-story, white brick building at the corner between a parking lot and a seedy motel. Izuku noticed a dark green SUV in the otherwise empty parking lot. It was a nice car. Too nice for this neighbourhood.

 _Somebody important must be working late._ Thought Izuku, grinning under his mask.

The only question now was how to get in. A "legitimate business" like this probably had a security alarm and he could see a panoramic surveillance camera mounted to a ledge just outside the front door. The windows were all barred and probably made of shatter proof glass. However, there was one fatal weakness. There was a heat wave going through Musutafu and amongst the record setting temperatures everyone was doing whatever they could to stay cool. And so, it came as no surprise that someone had jury-rigged a small, residential grade AC unit beneath one of the second story windows.

He cautiously approached the building along the camera's blind spot before hopping up to the window. Peering through the thick glass, he saw that the room was deserted. All that was inside was a pair of desks covered with paperwork.

As carefully and as quietly as he could, he removed the AC unit, gripping it tightly with his fingers so it wouldn't fall to the pavement below. Slipping under the window, he pulled the AC box in with him and set it down under the window.

_If no one is here tonight I'll set this up again. I don't want to leave any sign that there was a disturbance if I have to stake this place out._

Creeping across the room, he pressed his ear to the door. He could hear someone moving around somewhere close by. Their footsteps were making an odd clicking sound.

_Heavy footfalls. Maybe this person has animal morphology or hooves?_

Izuku opened the door and crept out into a second-floor balcony that ran overtop the main reception area of the shop. From here, he could see that the lower level was deserted. Pressing his ear to the floor he could hear the metal footsteps coming from just down the hall and around the corner.

Walking on the balls of his feet, he stealthily moved toward the source of the sound. Poking his head around the corner, he saw a bright fluorescent light coming in from under the door frame at the end of the hall. He walked up to the door. Taking a deep breath, he gripped the handle.

_Let's hope this guy knows something._

Flinging open the door, Izuku strode in before stopping mid step. There pacing around the room, was the yellow costumed man he had first seen over five months ago.

'Shocker!' Izuku exclaimed.

The man stopped pacing and faced him and Izuku felt his spider sense go crazy.

'Ah, Spider-Man.' said the Man coolly, 'I was wondering if you would show up here tonight.'

* * *

Izuku blinked a few times before he recovered from his initial surprise. Hastily raising his fists, he studied his opponent.

He was wearing the same yellow, metal costume crisscrossed with black diagonal lines that he had worn before. He had a full helmet masking his face and on both of his arms he was wearing gauntlets that ran up his forearms to the elbow. By each of his thumbs Izuku could see a small red trigger.

_Why would he wear a second layer of armour over his hands and arms? Those gantlets must be a weapon of some sort!_

'You're a lot smaller than I thought you'd be.' said Shocker impassively, putting a hand on his hip, 'A lot younger too.'

'What are you talking about?' Izuku said, his heart about to beat out his chest, 'I'm here to stop you!'

Shocker nodded but otherwise didn't move.

'I figured it was personal between us. Tell me; I'm curious, what did I do to you?'

'Uhm, well…' started Izuku.

_I'm not really here for vengeance or anything. He's never hurt me or anyone I know personally._

'I-I'm here because you're a villain! That's the only reason I need!'

'Oh. So you're one of those then.' he sounded disappointed, 'I suppose there is no sense in me trying to convince you to see reason.'

Izuku scoffed.

'Reason? You're a murderer! What could you possibly have to say?'

Shocker laughed.

'You want the speech? Alright.' Shocker sounded amused. After a brief pause, he began to speak: 'I get it, kid. You grew up watching hero cartoons; you saw the battles; the glory. You've heard All Might and the other heroes giving their interviews and thought you could fight injustice too. You could be one of the good guys! And so, being young and honest you looked around and found the one place where injustice is most visible. The ghetto, right? But have you ever wondered why your favourite heroes aren't here, fighting me by your side? Why is it that where the city suffers the most, the heroes are nowhere to be found?'

'The…slums are the way they are because people don't have jobs and-' started Izuku before Shocker cut him off.

'Yes, yes. Everyone knows that. It was that way in the old world too. That's not what I'm asking. Forget about the victims, I'm asking why the _heroes_ aren't here fighting me with you.'

'Well, you're a small-time crook. They're busy fighting bigger threats.' It sounded like a lame excuse, even to him.

Shocker shook his head and chuckled softly. 

'You've seen enough of my operation to know that I'm not so insignificant. A Trigger crazy junkie might roam around downtown and blow up a restaurant or rob a bank, but that pales in comparison to my crimes. No, this isn't a question of impact. The reason why I'm allowed to exist in relative peace is because all those heroes and the hero worshiping culture that created them, are only interested in the quick fix. They want to flex their muscles and beat down the rampaging monster, not fight the root cause of the problem.'

'Well, I'm here! I can put a stop to you right now!' Izuku declared, tensing himself.

However Shocker didn't move. Instead he merely sighed.

'Like I said. You're a product of your environment. Think of it this way. You've been fighting your way up the ladder of my organization, right? Well assuming you beat me, where will you go next? Me and people like me are created by our own government's incompetence and corruption. Will you fight them too? Are you going to go kick down the door to the mayor's office next?'

'Uh, no. That's stupid. If you want to fight corruption, you can vote.'

'Yes. Fight with your rights as a citizen. But nobody does that. The hero culture discourages it. You're supposed to fight the monsters in the streets not the monsters you elected. You know what your problem is, kid? You climbed too high up the ladder. The reason you're here, alone, is that most of the professional heroes recognize that it's in their best interest to fight the small fry, get the easy victories, pose for the cameras and move on. From their point of view, why would they ever want to change the slums? It's the perfect breeding ground for future villains to defeat. Meanwhile the mayor can point to the heroes and praise them for their valour. And beyond the mayor the government can use the attacks as justification for more registries, more consolidation of power, until they figure out a way to control quirks altogether. Then the heroes will become criminals, just like you are now.'

Izuku scoffed.

'Lately I've come across my own reasons to distrust the government, but even so you're cynical to the point of absurdity. Is that how you justify all the harm you've done?' Izuku said, before shaking his head in disbelief, 'Whatever. I came here to beat you up, not listen to you monologue.'

Shocker took his hand off his hip and raised his arms.

'Fine by me.' he said, his voice emotionless once more. 

* * *

Izuku lunged forward at full speed. Before Shocker could react, Izuku smacking his fist against his mask. Shocker's helmet vibrated like a gong as he was sent flying backward and smashing through his desk.

Despite hitting him with his full force, Shocker started to rise to his feet. Raising his shaking arms he steadied himself and Izuku charged again. However, this time Shocker was ready for him. Next thing Izuku knew he was airborne. With a mighty blast of reverberating force, he was sent pinwheeling through the air, the wall behind him crumbling to dust before he could even hit it. Rag dolling as he went, he flew through the new hole in the wall and over the railing overlooking the lobby. Falling to the first floor with the rubble, he hit the ground hard.

Izuku gasped as his body slammed to the floor. It felt like every bone in his body had just been shattered like glass. He had encountered blasts of force before, after all he had grown up with Bakugo, but he had never experienced anything this intense.

Slowly he attempted to rise. Before he could get his bearings, Shocker landed in front of him, his armoured boots crunching the debris. Raising his shimmering, gauntleted hands he pointed his palms down at Izuku. Izuku felt a spasm and he forced himself to leap. Just barely he moved out of the way as some invisible blow annihilated the section of floor he had just been standing on. Where once there had been tile, there was a flash of dust, then an oval shaped crater deep enough to expose the metal piping beneath. Landing on the ceiling, Izuku felt his eyes go wide.

_What the hell is his quirk?! Does he create shockwaves from his gauntlets?_

Shocker, apparently confused, swiveled his helmeted head around as he scanned the lobby for where his prey had disappeared to. Sensing his chance, Izuku dropped behind him. Shocker must have heard him land because he quickly pivoted. Before he could attack again however, Izuku wrapped his arms around his waist. With a grunt, Izuku lifted him. Rotating on his hip, he threw him as hard as he could. Flying backward, Shocker burst through the lobby wall, smashed into several shelves of packages, and through another wall before colliding into the white brick exterior of the building. 

Panting, Izuku dropped his hands to his knees. His body was in no condition to fight after that initial hit. As he tried to recover, he saw Shocker stand up from amongst the broken masonry.

 _No way!_ Thought Izuku with despair as he watched Shocker dust himself off.

'You've got a powerful quirk Spider-Man, but I'm afraid its just not enough. One more hit ought to…'

Shocker paused and looked over Izuku's shoulder.

'Can you excuse us please, I'm busy right now.' Shocker said in an annoyed voice.

'Business before pleasure, Herman.' tittered a high-pitched voice.

Izuku whirled. Standing just behind him was another costumed man.

_Where did this guy come from? Nobody has been able to sneak up on me since I got my super powers! Is he another hero?_

Izuku's hope quickly changed to dread as he noticed the man's face. He didn't need his spider sense to tell him that this was no hero. He was wearing a tight body suit with black leggings, red chest, red arms, and a yellow mantle with a lightning bolt around his shoulders. His eyes were covered by a thick pair of goggles.

'You must be Spider-Man!' he said, flashing him a toothy smile, 'Under different circumstances I would shake your hand, but I'm afraid I'm in a bit of a hurry.'

Izuku stared at him in bleary eyed confusion and the man laughed.

'Oh, where are my manners. People call me Speed Demon! Perhaps you've heard about me?'

Izuku's breath caught in his throat.

'You're the guy who's refining Trigger! Is that how you're so strong?' Izuku asked Shocker who was walking closer.

'What? No!' Shocker exclaimed indignantly while Speed Demon chuckled, 'Do I look like a junkie to you? I've trained my quirk and augmented myself with equipment _I_ designed to become stronger. Maybe if you had done the same this battle would have gone differently.'

Izuku kept backing up as Shocker kept advancing towards him. Turning slightly, he angled himself so that he could keep an eye on both Shocker and Speed Demon. Izuku felt like at any moment he could collapse.

_I need to buy some time so I can regain my strength._

'I thought you two hated each other. Why are you here?' Izuku said while trying to tense his legs for another leap.

'Hate? Oh, no, no, no.' Speed Demon said affably,' We've worked through our differences and decided a merger between our organizations would be better for everyone. I just came by to discuss some boring ol' clerical work. Shipment routes, people to bribe; you know, that sort of thing. Nothing for you to concern yourself with. If I were you, I'd be more worried about myself!'

Speed Demon laughed and Shocker came to a stop beside him. Now faced with two villains, Izuku felt himself sweat. What could he do now? 

'I'll be right with you.' Shocker said to Speed Demon before raising his gauntlets back up, 'Now hold still…'

Springing forward, Izuku moved in to attack Shocker before he could finish raising his hands.

_If I can disable his gauntlets, I might have a chance! I just need to-_

'Urk!' gasped Izuku as something hard suddenly collided with his stomach. Slumping over in pain he started to fall over. However, before he could hit the ground he felt a hand suddenly grip his throat, hoisting him upwards.

Izuku cracked open his eyes. It was Speed Demon!

'Woo! You're a fast one! Not fast enough though. Still, no wonder you've been able to give Shocker so much trouble.' Speed Demon said enthusiastically while smiling, 'Say Herman, I do believe that if he had landed that attack, you'd be down for the count!'

Shocker snorted. 

'I've already taken his blows when he was at his strongest, what could he do to me now that he's half dead? Drop him, I'll finish this.'

'As you wish.'

Speed Demon released his grip on his throat and he fell. Hitting his feet on the floor, he found that he didn't have the strength to stand. Collapsing to his knees, he forced his chin up until he was looking up at the pair. He couldn't see either of their eyes, but he doubted there was any mercy in them.

'Fought like a true hero, Spider-Man. Courageous, but futile.'

Time seemed to slow as Shocker pointed both of his gauntlets at his face. As Shocker pressed down on his gauntlet triggers, Izuku's life flashed before his eyes. He saw his Mother and Father, Kacchan, and All Might. And he saw himself. Years and years ago. Running around with a cape, holding on to his dream. Never doubting that he would be a hero.

_My dreams can't end like this! Not like this!_

With a sudden surge of adrenaline, Izuku roared as he lashed out. With all the strength he could muster he kicked, sweeping Shockers legs to the side. Suddenly knocked off balance, Shocker threw up his arms. At that moment the force he had been storing from being knocked through the walls coupled with the blow Izuku just dealt him, amplified the power of his gauntlets to levels far higher than he had anticipated.

With a massive explosion, Shocker blew apart the rooftop to the building, shaking the old brick masonry loose and sending it crashing down on top of them. Shocker cried out in alarm and Speed Demon raised an eyebrow as the front of the building collapsed inward towards them.

As the bricks fell, Izuku was pushed forward by a wave of debris. Falling to his stomach, he felt his mind drift to unconsciousness as he was buried in rubble.


	10. Evasion

Izuku moaned as he stirred. Trying to rise to his feet, he felt himself get held back down into the linoleum floor. He tried to raise his hand, but it was stuck on something. Looking around him, he saw that he was underneath what looked like ceiling tile.

_What happened? Where am I?_

His mind felt sluggish. Slowly coming back to his senses, he remembered his disastrous confrontation with Shocker and his final act of defiance.

_I must still be at the Max Shipping building. Or what's left of it anyway._

He held his breath and listened. From somewhere above him he could hear the faint sound of sirens. No doubt the police were on their way to investigate.

Gritting his teeth, he started to push himself to his feet. The weight against him was almost more than he could bear. His body practically screamed at him to stop as his countless injuries suddenly flared in pain, but he persisted. Gritting his teeth, he slowly started to pull himself up through the pile. As he inched his way up, he felt the pressure against him lessen and the effort of standing became easier.

Raising his arms, he tried to swipe away some of the debris when he felt his arm punch through the suffocating mound and he hoisted himself through the rubble which collapsed back with a crash as soon as he was free. No doubt he was a sitting duck, but he didn't care. Lifting up his mask, he started to take in some choking breaths of air. The heat wave may have made the city smell like a pile of steaming trash, but at that moment the air had never tasted sweeter.

After a few haggard breaths he let himself fall to his back where he lay gasping. Without the strength to move, he rolled his eyes and looked around the former lobby of the Max Shipping Building. The ceiling had completely collapsed and not a wall was standing. Thankfully it seemed as though he was alone, but he knew it wouldn't last. Doubtless someone had called the police and already he could hear the thumping blades of a helicopter drawing closer.

'Get…up…' Izuku croaked, but his body refused to obey.

_I can't just lay here. If the police catch me, I'll be done for. I have to move! But, how can I stand?_

Checking around him, he spotted a thin copper pipe jutting out from the wreckage that was just in arm's reach. Grabbing it, he braced it against the rubble and started pushing himself up. As he put weight on his feet, he cried out in pain. His legs were almost certainly broken.

Leaning against the pipe, he steeled himself. Every second he waited the police got closer, but he needed to think. In his current condition he couldn't outrun anyone, much less a helicopter.

Looking over the rubble mound, he set his eyes on a distant alleyway across the street. It wouldn't hide him from any police on foot, but at least he'd be shielded from the helicopter.

_Using the alleys is my only choice. C'mon move it, Deku!_

Using the pipe like a crutch, he took a step forward. He nearly reeled as his leg spasmed in agony, but he forced himself to take another step. And then another. If he were to stop he knew he wouldn't have the strength to keep going so he pushed on.

After what felt like an hour of excruciating limping which in reality lasted only a minute, he at last managed to cross the street and enter the alley just as the helicopter arrived. As the helicopter flew over the ruins, its searchlight blazing, Izuku heard the wailing police sirens draw closer. No doubt they would search the area for any witnesses or suspects.

_I wonder if Shocker and Speed Demon got trapped underneath all that rubble too?_ Thought Izuku as he leaned up against a dumpster.

Izuku cleared his head. Now was not the time to speculate. He needed to put some distance between him and the wreckage before the police arrived. Hobbling forward as fast as he could, he only managed a dozen meters before the pain in his legs became unbearable again. Gasping, he fell against a dumpster.

_This is pathetic. I need to go faster!_

After resting for a short while, he resumed his uneven gait forward. Stumbling through the alley, he arrived at the neighbouring street. Thankfully the street was mostly deserted. Besides a pair of retreating homeless people, and the odd person peering out the window, everyone was long gone. No doubt they had heard the explosion and wisely hid themselves. It was funny how differently people in the slums behaved during a villain attack as compared to the nicer areas of the city. They were used to violence here and had much better survival instincts as a result. If his battle had occurred elsewhere, no doubt a crowd of curious onlookers would have come to try and get a look at the action - which would have doomed his attempts to escape. Under the present circumstances though, there was a chance he could sneak away.

Looking around, he spotted another dark alley just across the street. It was his only choice.

Forcing himself to move again, he limped forward along the sidewalk, swearing with every step he took. Upon reaching the alley he doubled over panting. Spitting, he straightened himself and looked ahead. The gloom of the alleyway beckoned.

_Just take it one block at a time, Deku._

* * *

After one of the most harrowing journeys of his life, the end was finally in sight. It had taken hours leading well past the crack of dawn and there had been several close calls along the way, but just ahead were the doors to his apartment building- promising safety. Wiping his face, he couldn't help but smile in relief. He was so close.

Almost instantly he felt his upswell of relief fade as he thought about what his mother was going to say when she saw him. He hadn't had the opportunity to see himself in a mirror, but near as he could tell his entire body was bruised and if his hands were anything to go by, swollen as well. Based on his current condition, he knew that there was no way he would be able to make it through his classes. He needed to rest and let his body heal.

Coming up on the doors to his apartment, he cast aside his copper pipe staff which fell clattering to the gutter before attempting his best to adopt a normal stride. His pain wasn't as bad as it was initially, but his body still felt like it was on the verge of collapsing. As it was, he could barely manage to move unassisted. Pushing open the doors, he walked through into the lobby where several people who had been milling about stopped to stare at him, their mouths falling open in shock.

'D-Don't mind me. Allergies.' he rasped.

They said nothing. Instead they merely watched in disbelief, unblinking and unmoving as he hobbled over to the elevator. Pressing the button for his floor, Izuku leaned up against the wall and sighed. The worst was yet to come.

_This is going to be rough._ He thought, grimacing.

Arriving at his floor, he managed his way down the hallway and towards his door. Rather than fumble for his keys with his near useless fingers, he pressed the doorbell and waited. A few seconds later the door flung open revealing the worried face of his mother.

'Izuku! Where were you? It's so late! You're-'

She froze. Her eyes went wide and a small gasp escaped her lips. Then she screamed, her hands flying to her face.

'What happened?! Were you attacked? Can you move? Oh, God! Here, come here!' she rushed to his side and put her arm around his shoulder and guided him to the couch.

'Mom!' Izuku gasped as he was half carried forward, she was inadvertently pressing into his ribs, 'It's not that bad, honest! I just had a little accident, that's all.'

'A little accident?' she whispered as he laid back on the couch, trying his best to look uninjured.

'Y-Yeah! There I was walking along when suddenly…'

She listened in mute horror as he launched into his tale. During his morning jog he was running along the sidewalk when he, distracted by his upcoming exams, tripped and fell into a construction site. Rolling down into the pit he had suffered a few scrapes and bruises, but otherwise felt fine.

'So really maybe I should just stay home from school today and rest up. I'm sure I'll be right as rain tomorrow.' he said cheerfully. However, despite his best efforts, his mother still looked grave. Taking a deep breath, she nodded, her worried expression suddenly becoming firm.

_Uh oh._ Thought Izuku nervously. He knew that look.

'Okay. You rest up on the couch for now. I'm going to call the doctor. As soon as you can move, I'll take you in. I want you to get x-rayed as soon as possible. '

Ignoring his pain, Izuku sat up in a last-ditch attempt to convince her otherwise.

'But Mom I-'

She turned from the phone and looked at him, her eyes shining fervently. Izuku quickly snapped his mouth shut. Meekly, he settled back down onto the couch cushions and looked at his reflection on the black TV.

_I've already cheated death once today. I'd better not push it!_

* * *

It was evening by the time Izuku and his mother walked back into the apartment, totally exhausted. They had been in and out of doctor's offices all day. First, they had went to the local clinic where the doctor had been quite puzzled as to the nature of his injuries. During their initial examination, they discovered that he had extensive and even bruising across his entire body coupled with soft tissue injury on all of his muscles.

After telling his tale again to the doctor (albeit with some extra embellishments for flavour), the doctor suggested he perform more tests. Izuku had tried to refuse, but his mom had overruled his lame protests and insisted that he get some x-rays.

The x-rays were equally puzzling. According to the doctor, from the limited x-rays he had taken of Izuku's chest, legs, and arms, every single one of his bones were covered in microfractures. When questioned as to what this could mean, the doctor offered two explanations. Either the machine was broken or Izuku had advanced osteoporosis coupled with osteogenesis imperfecta. Needless to say, his mother had not taken the news well.

While the x-ray machine was being examined by the technician, Izuku was sent over to the hospital for an MRI. Beneath the whirring of the high-tech device surrounded by experts Izuku thought his luck had finally run out, but low and behold the MRI revealed that his bones were fine. Thankfully his body must have been able to regenerate sufficiently to fool the doctor. When questioned about the microfractures the staff merely shrugged and suggested that the machine must not have been calibrated correctly. In any case Izuku was ordered to rest for the next few days to give his muscles time to recover.

And so he enjoyed a well deserved four-day weekend.

* * *

That Monday Izuku walked into his homeroom class and looked around. Everyone was busily texting and talking to one another while Bakugo doodled in his notebook waiting for class to begin. Naturally nobody noticed or cared that he was back.

'Everything is just how I left it.' Izuku said to himself contentedly before going to his desk and sitting down.

Just before the tardy bell rang, Mr. Tamanegi entered; looking only slightly hungover this time.

'Alright, alright, everyone shut up.'

Mr. Tamanegi swung his briefcase on his desk and immediately loosened his tie. Walking across the front of the room he grabbed the class's beloved rotating fan and hauled it towards his desk. Everyone groaned.

'Mr. Tamanegi, sir, if you move the fan-' began one brave student but he was quickly silenced.

'It's my fan and I can do with it as I please. Or are you giving me attitude? Hmmm?'

The class looked on miserably as Mr. Tamanegi repositioned the fan to blow on him first, then to the rest of the class. This wouldn't have been so bad if their teacher didn't have such a pronounced body odour problem. Evidently, he refused to wear deodorant and when he was sweating, which he almost always was these days, his cologne mixed with his body's natural musk to create a uniquely unpleasant aroma.

Some students had petitioned him to allow them to bring mini desk mounted fans for their own personal use but he had refused, stating that they had enough distractions as it was. Once he had everything set up to his liking, he looked over the class and spotted Izuku.

'Midoriya.' drawled Mr. Tamanegi putting his hands on his belt, 'So you return to us. Very suspicious timing getting injured just before our math test last week. I trust you have a doctor's note?'

Izuku opened his mouth to mouth to respond but quickly gagged. At that exact moment the fan had blown through Mr. Tamanegi's raised arms and past his armpits. Coughing, Izuku nodded and held up a small piece of paper.

'Very well. You may turn it in at lunch. Oh, and that reminds me, the principal wants to speak with you after class today.'

As per school tradition, the class let out an obligatory "OoooOOOOOoo…" and Izuku frowned slightly.

_Now what?_

* * *

That afternoon, Izuku entered Principal Sasaina office. She was seated at her desk, suit jacket tossed aside as she fanned her face with some loose paperwork.

'Principal Sasaina, you wanted to see me?'

'Ah, yes. Please have a seat.'

Izuku sat down and looked at her expectantly.

'So. I just received word that you have qualified to write the UA test for the Support Hero program, congratulations.'

'Ha!' Izuku shouted, raising his fist in triumph. Principal Sasaina winced.

'Please use your inside voice. And yes, it is very exciting. Now I should remind you that this does not mean that you have been accepted into the support program yet. You will still need to pass their written exam as well as their practical test.'

Izuku grinned, 'I think I can handle both of those no problem!'

_As long as I cheat a little with my secret powers that is._

'Good, confidence!' Principal Sasaina said, smiling condescendingly, 'Everyone like's a little confidence. However, I should warn you that these two tests will be far more difficult then what you're accustomed to. Even the written test. You see, the Hero Support Program requires its first-year students to have at least a working level understanding of engineering, fabrication, and, uh, other sciency things.'

Izuku suddenly felt his enthusiasm dampen.

'Well, I mean…I always won the science fair.'

Principal Sasaina burst out into a high-pitched cackling laughter. Izuku recoiled slightly as she laughed and brought her fist banging down on her desk.

'Oh! Oh, my sides! You are a riot!'

She paused to wipe a tear from her eye before she continued.

'Sorry. I suppose it's not really funny. You see, Hero Support Program applicants typically attend either a secondary school or have special classes in their existing school's curriculum to give them the knowledge they need to pass the exam.'

Izuku blanched, 'I wasn't aware of this! Wh-why don't we have any of those programs here?!'

Principal Sasaina pursed her lips and shrugged.

'The student council decided it would be better investment to have a swimming pool.'

'But nobody is even allowed to use the pool!' Izuku cried in frustration.

'Well, have you ever considered the maintenance costs of a pool? I mean really, the filter replacements alone…'

Izuku stopped paying attention. The UA exam was in less than four months and from the sounds of things he was completely unprepared.

'Okay.' Izuku said shakily, swallowing back his fears. 'What can I do to prepare for the written exam? There has to be something.'

'As it turns out there is. I contacted the administration over at UA and they were kind enough to provide me with a study packet for you. Consider it as primer material for the exam.' she gestured over at an enormous brown envelope beside her.

Izuku stood and grabbed the heavy envelope. Opening it, he saw it was filled with hundreds upon hundreds of pages. From what he could see each page was a mess of scientific jargon and engineering diagrams. This wasn't going to be easy.

'Oh, and Midoriya?'

Izuku turned and faced Principal Sasaina, she had a malevolent gleam in her eye.

'Don't make me look bad.'

Izuku gulped. For the first time in his life he felt anxious about schoolwork.

That afternoon as soon as he got home he rushed for his desk in his room. Upon entering he practically dove into his desk chair. The clock was ticking. Tearing open the envelope he poured its contents on his desk. There was so much information that it was difficult to know where to begin. Cracking his knuckles, he got to work.

Izuku spent the next few days just reading through the material. The concepts were familiar to him and he understood the underlying theory, but there was so much information to cover. Even with his intuitive grasp of the subject matter the chapters upon chapters of information could only be absorbed so quickly.

As the weeks rolled by, each day he would go to his desk and work. Work himself to exhaustion and beyond - until his brain could hold no more information and even his dreams were consumed with his studies. It was exhausting. Yet in the midst of this struggle he found himself enjoying the challenge. Not just because he found the subject matter engaging and not just because he was working to achieve his dream, but because he knew it was something he could do. In a society dominated by individuals with powerful quirks and abilities, he could still compete on even footing in one aspect. With his intellect. And so, he found himself renewed every day, ready to work and prove that there were some areas where he was king.

The next three months passed in a blur. Before he knew it, he had worked through the packet. He found there wasn't even a point in reviewing the material as he knew each diagram and formula like the back of his own hand. Sweeping the pages back into the envelope, he went to bed early.

* * *

The next day, Izuku strode into Principal Sasaina office, a cocky smile on his face.

'Um, excuse me, Principal Sasaina? I finished working through that packet you got me from UA.' Izuku said proudly.

'Really?' she said studying him for a moment, 'Well that's good to hear. I've had chapters two and three sitting in my office for the last three months now.'

'What!?' Izuku gasped, his jaw dropping.

_Two more chapters? I'm doomed!_

Principal Sasaina looked at him sternly for a moment before bursting out laughing. He looked at her in bewilderment for a moment before he finally caught on. Slowly her mighty guffaws subsided.

'Very funny.' Izuku muttered once she had calmed herself down some.

'Midoriya, I'm so sorry. It's very impressive that you managed to complete that packet. No, beyond that even. I think its downright amazing.' her mouth started to crack into a smile, 'But really though, the look on your face!'

Her giggles turned into cackles as Izuku let out a resigned sigh.

'So, that was it right? The packet was all the information you had?' he asked wearily.

'Yes. That was everything. Your test is on Friday, correct? Do you think you're ready?'

He nodded, 'Yeah, I think so.'

'Good. You should take some time to relax then. The less stressed you are, the better you'll do.'

'Maybe I'd be less stressed if you didn't pull pranks on me.' Izuku mumbled under his breath.

'Oh, come on. Lighten up! Laughter is good.'

Izuku left her office, muttering to himself. The whole ordeal had set him on edge. Now that he was as prepared as he could be, he just had to run out the clock.

* * *

Later that evening, Izuku sat down to supper with his mom. Despite his earlier confidence, he couldn't help but feel a creeping sense of unease.

'So, do you want me to ask you review questions or anything?' his mom asked while they ate over. Izuku shook his head.

'No. I think I'll be okay.' he replied, absently stirring around the noodles in his bowl. He didn't have much of an appetite.

His mother smiled at him. 'You know back when I was at university, I remember I was so stressed out about my physics finals that I didn't sleep for two days.' Izuku looked up at her in interest.

'Really? Why were you taking physics?'

'I was trying to understand my quirk better. Back in my day, telekinesis was very rare. Hm, I guess it still is. Anyway, there are a lot of industries that benefit from employees being able to precisely manipulate objects without having to touch them or be near them and back then in order to get a job using your quirk, you needed to be able to demonstrate a working knowledge of what you were doing.' she said matter of factly.

Izuku nodded. That made sense. As far as he knew, telekinesis was one of the most in demand quirks there was in the job market.

'Anyway. I'm sure you'll do well. Have you…have you learned anything about the practical exam yet?'

He shook his head.

'They never reveal what the exam is going to be until after its happened. I know they usually have the Hero Program applicants fight robots, but other than that I don't have a clue.' he said.

'Well. I'm sure you'll do great regardless.'

Later that evening, Izuku retreated to his room. Closing his door, he wandered over to his desk and sat down.

_What should I do now?_

He didn't feel like watching anything or playing any computer games. He wanted to go out and do something. Suddenly he felt a pang of guilt. Frowning, his gaze was drawn over to his closet. Spider-Man hadn't been on patrol once his battle with Shocker.

Izuku thought about that fight often. He had been completely outclassed. Studying quirks had been his hobby for his whole life and he knew that on paper he should have been able to win. He was faster, stronger, and had superior awareness not to mention his spider sense. Shocker on the other hand fought in much the same manner as Bakugo, projecting blasts of force outward from their hands. True Shocker had increased his power with his suit, but he was still familiar with the fighting style. He shouldn't have lost.

Izuku retrieved his costume and looked it over. It was damaged beyond repair. The gloves and mask were fine but everything else had been torn to shreds.

_Shocker said that training and equipment were the deciding factor in our battle. There is something I'm missing about how I fight. Something I need to add to my arsenal. If only I knew somebody I could ask for advice…_

Suddenly Izuku had an idea. Grabbing his mask and a change of clothes, he prepared to head out. Turns out there was someone he could ask. He just had to buy some blue spray paint first.

* * *

The following night Izuku was standing by the red graffiti in the concrete parkade structure where he had met Knuckleduster. He felt a little self conscious as apart from his mask he was dressed in plain clothes. But he figured it would be best to talk with Knuckleduster sooner rather than later and he didn't know when he would get the chance to make a new costume.

Eventually, he heard heavy footfalls climbing up the car ramp. Rounding the corner, Knuckleduster saw him and grunted. Stopping in front of him he lit a cigarette.

'I heard the police didn't find your body, but I figured you'd been captured and tortured to death.' Knuckleduster said.

'Aw, that's sweet of you. You heard about my fight at Max Shipping? I didn't realize that was public knowledge.' Izuku said in surprise.

'It took some detective work.' he answered simply.

'R-Right. Well look, I called you over here because I wanted to ask your advice about something.'

'Oh?'

'Yeah. Back when we first met, you said I couldn't beat Shocker in a fight. Well I-I couldn't.' Izuku shuffled his feet, 'I should have been able to beat him - my quirk is really strong - but I don't think I even landed a scratch on him.'

'And?'

'And I was wondering if you had some advice on how I should fight him.'

Knuckleduster chuckled.

'I've never seen you fight before so I don't know how useful my perspective will be. But I'm curious, how long have you been a vigilante?'

'Almost a year.'

'And I'm guessing because you've got such a strong quirk you've mostly just brute forced your way through your enemies, haven't you?'

Izuku scratched his arm.

'Yeah.'

'Typical. A lot of vigilantes fight that way. Quite a few pro's do too. Everyone sees how All Might or Endeavour fights and they think that with brute strength they can just overwhelm their enemies. But the thing is there is a lot of skill that goes into how they fight too. They're not just letting loose with everything they've got.'

Knuckleduster exhaled a cloud of smoke.

'How do you fight; at range or up close and personal?'

'Close quarters.'

'You one of those guys with an enhancement type quirk then? Super strength?' Izuku nodded and Knuckleduster continued, 'Okay, then my advice to you is find a way to fight at range. Guys with enhancement type quirks are always the most predictable. Trust me, if you're fighting someone who's experienced who doesn't have super speed or whatever, they've learned how to counter your physical advantage. They'll fight smart and so should you.'

'So…should I like, throw a rock or something?'

'A rock. Grenades if you can get em'. Course blowing people up might not make you too popular. The more creative you can get with how you fight the better.'

'Hm. Alright. How do you fight?'

'Me? I fight up close and personal, but I don't have super strength or anything. You see most quirk users don't know how to throw a punch. They wind up their arms and put everything they have into their blows, it's hilarious.' Knuckleduster said laughing harshly.

Izuku frowned.

_I never learned how to throw a punch properly._

'So your trick is martial arts?'

Knuckleduster nodded, 'Yeah. But I also carry this.' reaching into his overcoat he pulled out what looked like a pistol, 'This is my grappling gun. Anything you can use to enhance your mobility is crucial when fighting someone with a highly destructive quirk. Verticality is especially important in the slums. You want to be as unpredictable as possible.'

_So Shocker's weakness is being taken off guard by unconventional tactics and attacks. How ironic. But what about Speed Demon?_

'When I fought Shocker, Speed Demon showed up. I think he has an enhancement type quirk too. Super speed?'

'A real creative genius that one.' Knuckleduster said, rolling his cigarette.

'Not that I'm defending him or anything but you wear a duster and wear brass knuckles so…'

'Yeah, whatever _Spider-Man_. Speed Demon is fast, what's your question?'

'How do I fight someone like him?' he asked.

'When it comes to a fight between two enhanced guys, an idiot will say that whoever is more powerful wins every time. But the real victor will be someone who goes into battle with some sort of edge. Fight dirty to take away their strength while leaving your own. Martial arts can work, but sometimes that's not enough if the difference in power is too great. Speedsters are the most annoying kind of enhanced guys to fight because they can always retreat or do hit and run attacks. But, if they think they're untouchable then they might also get cocky. Trap 'em I say. Find a way to lock them into a confined space and go to town. Anything you can do to restrict their movement is a plus.'

'Hmmm.' Izuku said, rubbing his chin. It was an interesting problem.

_Speed Demon did seem pretty arrogant. But how can I neutralize his speed? If I'm decreasing his ability to react and move, I am in effect increasing my own mobility relative to his own. Increased mobility is also how I defeat guys like Shocker too. What I need is someway to lock down my enemies from afar. Keep them restrained and vulnerable so I can finish them off._

Izuku's musings were interrupted by Knuckledusters deep voice.

'Anything else? C'mon I don't have all night.' he said gruffly.

Izuku focused back at the man. If he didn't know any better he could have sworn that Knuckleduster was enjoying this. In spite of his gruff demeanor, he was willing to bet that Knuckleduster was a lot nicer than he let on. Izuku caught himself. Now was not the time to start making friends.

'I think that about does it actually. Based on what you said. I need to increase my mobility, decrease the mobility of my enemies, have a ranged attack of some sort, and be unconventional to surprise my foes.'

'And train up your body AND develop yourself as a fighter. Not so easy is it? But that's what it takes if you want to survive.'

Izuku's mind raced as he considered what Knuckleduster had told him.

'Alright. You've given me a lot to think about. Thanks. I'll see you later.'

Izuku turned to leave.

'Hey! You're just taking off?' Knuckleduster said in surprise.

'Yeah, I've got to work tomorrow. I'll see you around.'

With a wave, Izuku took off back the way he had came. Jumping down to the street, he covertly started navigating his way through the alley. He had to be up bright and early tomorrow for his exam at UA.


	11. Running in Blind

When Izuku returned to his apartment he found sleep impossible. All night he just lay in his bed, dreading the test to come. His mind was filled with a confusing mixture of Knuckledusters advice and his studies; repeating endlessly until he could hardly think straight. Sometime during the night, he must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew his mother was banging on his door, yelling at him to wake up or he'd be late.

'Izuku! It's almost eight! Wake up!' she yelled, slapping on his door.

With a yelp, he quickly showered and dressed. Grabbing his things, he had one foot out the door when his mom stopped him.

'Izu! Wait!' she cried.

Izuku whirled around, as he put on his backpack.

'What?' he said exasperatedly. He had a train to catch and he was running late already. However, what he saw caused him to freeze. His mother was smiling at him broadly, tears flowing down her face. In her hands she was holding a green and white bundle.

'I heard that for the practical exam you're encouraged to wear a costume. Here, I made it while you were busy studying.'

'G-Gee Mom…you didn't have to do this…'

Izuku took the bundle of cloth. Finding a sleeve, he rubbed the material in between his fingers. It was much better than anything he could make. Izuku felt his own tears start to form on his face. Before he could say anything though his mom jumped into his arms.

'I know you'll do great, Izu!'

Izuku nodded to her as he pulled back from her embrace. Regaining his composure, he carefully tucked the costume in his backpack. Waving goodbye over his shoulder, he ran down the hallway towards the stairwell as fast as he dared. After taking a few sprinting shortcuts through the side streets, he was barely able to make it to his train in time.

After the ride and a short walk later, he found himself standing before the giant emblazoned gates of UA. Staring up at the gold lettering, Izuku felt like his heart might beat out of his chest.

'This is it. Deep breaths, no pressure.' he muttered to himself.

_Given the circumstances I studied as hard as I could. I'm probably just worried over nothing. I mean, how hard could a test for 14-year old’s possibly be?_

As he stood before the gatehouse savoring the moment, he suddenly heard a brash voice behind him.

'Take it all in now, Deku. This is the last time you'll be at UA.'

Izuku turned. Bakugo was striding towards him. Unsurprisingly, he didn't seem nervous at all.

'Hey, Kacchan. Are you ready for your tests?' Izuku said, falling in step beside him.

'Pfft! What kind of question is that? I've been ready for years now. How about you, did you bring a box of Kleenex so you can have a good cry after?'

'V-Very funny, Kacchan.' Izuku said, smiling slightly, 'You know, we probably won't see each other much after this. Even if I pass-'

'Good.' Bakugo said firmly.

The pair looked at each other. After a moment they turned their attention back to the path in front of them, walking together in silence before they had to separate. Bakugo going to the hero exam and Izuku to the support hero exam.

* * *

Even as nervous as he was, Izuku couldn't suppress his excitement as he entered the crowded examination hall. The room was filled with jittery teens his age who were standing before a raised stage in front of the hall, but behind them were rows of small tables, each with a neat stack of papers.

For the first time in as long as he could remember he was actually feeling intimidated by a test. Reaching behind him, he patted his backpack. He had triple checked before leaving for UA that he had all his school things but even so. Taking a deep breath, he started down the rows of tables to join the crowd.

_Just relax. Just relax. I’ll do fine, like always, I’ll do fine. I’m sure the study pack I got was more than enough to prepare. I mean, why wouldn’t it be?_

As he pondered his question, he felt a lump slowly form in his throat. What if Principal Sasaina had played a prank on him and sent him the wrong material? Or had just screwed up and sent him the wrong stuff? It wasn’t like the faculty at Aldera Jr. High cared if he succeeded.

He felt his heart rate increase and a bead of sweat rolled down his face. Swallowing, he cleared his throat and coughed.

_No…no…there’s no way. She wouldn’t!_

Forcing those thoughts away before he had a panic attack, he turned his attention to his fellow applicants to distract himself. He didn’t recognize anyone, but he wasn’t expecting to anyway. As was typical, the crowd was a diverse bunch of boys and girls with a wide range of differing morphologies. He wondered what quirks they had? Maybe all of this was for nothing and he would just get destroyed in the practical test anyway? In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t like he was anything special. It could very well be that his physical focused quirks would be completely useless here. After all, why would a support hero need super strength and speed? For the hero exam sure, but he still had no clue what the support exam even was. Now that he thought about it, he was more likely to fail than any of the other students here!

Sighing, he shook his head.

_Try not to get too overconfident, Deku. Geez, grow a spine already. You’ll be okay._

As he tried to calm down, a large person who had been blocking his view of the lectern shifted and Izuku couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement.

Standing at the front of the room was the famous support hero Power Loader and the disaster response hero Thirteen! To his delight both heroes were in their costumes. Power Loader was wearing his signature mechanized harness and Thirteen was wearing her mysterious, white astronaut suit. At the moment they were having a hushed conversation. Unable to resist, Izuku tilted his head and tried to pick up on what they were saying but he couldn’t tune out the other student’s chatter. He couldn’t be disappointed though. He was just happy to be in the same room as _the_ Power Loader and _the_ Thirteen!

Both of them were renowned for saving countless lives both in the aftermath of terrible disasters and during the fiercest battles. Even though support heroes weren’t as popular, _everyone_ loved Thirteen and Power Loader. They were living legends.

While he gawked, Power Loader finished his private conversation with Thirteen and stepped over to the podium. Tapping the microphone with one of his digging claw tipped gauntlets, he gazed around the crowded stage before speaking.

'Everyone,' started Power Loader raising his giant metal hand for order, 'welcome to UA. This study hall is for those writing the support hero exam. Please find a seat at one of the tables before you and wait quietly. Once everyone has been seated, we can begin.'

The crowd began to break away as the pale faced students began moving towards the testing tables. As Izuku searched for a free seat, his eyes met those of frantic faced boy.

'Did-did he say that this is support exam?' the boy asked Izuku fearfully.

'Yes. Are you-'

'Ah!' the panicked boy yelled, causing Izuku to jump. Without another word, the boy went sprinting out the room, purple blobs flying haphazardly off his head as he ran causing the people around him to leap back in alarm. Izuku stared after the purple headed boy incredulously.

_He must have gone to the wrong room. Talk about a nightmare come true!_

Turning his attention back to the hall, he spotted a free seat beside a girl with pink dreadlocks. Quickly trotting over, he hastily sat down. The girl’s yellow eyes flashed his way for a second before turning her attention back to playing with her pen. She ignored him as he unzipped his backpack and took out his things. As he was setting down his All Might pencil case, he heard the girl scoff.

‘What is this, preschool?’ he heard her mumble lowly.

He felt himself blush.

_I’ve never written anything without my All Might pencil case. It’s lucky!_

Putting his backpack aside, he stared down at the stack of papers in front of him with tight lipped resignation. Months of studying had all led to this moment.

Clasping his hands together, he took a few more deep breaths. Once everyone had seated themselves, Power Loader started speaking again.

'At this point we will ask all students to not talk until after you have left the exam hall. You have until 12:00 o'clock to complete the examination.'

Izuku suddenly became aware of the girl humming next to him. He knew that song. He _hated_ that song.

_God damnit. That stupid jingle is going to be playing in my head for the entire exam isn't it?_

'Once you have completed the exam please bring it to the front. I will announce when you may begin.'

Passing by their table, Thirteen handed him and the pink haired girl an exam booklet. Taking the packet, he couldn’t help but notice how heavy it was. Letting it fall to his desk, it made an audible thud. Gulping, he glanced around the room. Everywhere he looked he saw worried faces. Well, except for the girl next to him. She looked like she was having a great time.

A tense silence fell over the room as everyone waited for the clock to strike nine.

'You may begin.'

With a shuddering breath, he flipped open his exam booklet. As he read the first question, a sense of calm came over him. Grabbing his pencil, he started to write.

* * *

Izuku walked out of the examination hall with a slight grin on his face. He didn't want to jinx himself, but he felt like he did well. Exiting into the crowded foyer, he heard the students around him all nervously chatting to each other. More than a few of them were taking the opportunity to complain.

'Question twenty was bullshit. How do they expect us to work through that and complete the rest of the exam?' moaned one student to nobody in particular.

'I couldn't understand the last question! I said the reaction was impossible. Is that correct? Did anyone else write that?' said one frantic looking girl to her friends.

'My only hope is the practical exam now. As long as I ace that, I bet you I have a shot!' said a large boy loudly. He sounded hopeful, but judging by his armpit stains he wasn’t that confident.

Across the crowded room, Izuku spotted the girl with the pink hair and scowled. She had been extremely obnoxious throughout the entire test. Whether it was her humming, her drumming her fingers across the table, or her incessant leg swinging she had been driving him crazy. Thankfully she had been the first person to complete the test and he didn't have to endure her for too long.

 _I pity whichever class she ends up in._ Thought Izuku bitterly. That stupid song was still playing on loop in his head.

'Well everyone that wasn't so bad was it?' said a strangely distorted voice.

Izuku turned. Thirteen was standing before the podium while Power Loader scooped up the exams in his metal arms.

'There will now be a short break before the next phase of the exam.’ Thirteen continued, ‘Everyone please meet back here at 1:30 for the practical test. If you have a costume, I suggest changing into it before the break ends. You may wear for your evaluation.'

As the crowded room started to mill about Izuku noticed his stomach grumbling. He was starving. Exiting the building, he found a nice quiet spot where he could eat his lunch and take in the scenery. Sitting down beneath a tree, he looked over the UA campus. To say that it was enormous would be an understatement. Scattered around the central offices were a series of domed stadium like structures that looked like they could house thousands. There was even a mock city scape in the distance. Despite being as far away as he was, he could hear the rhythmic thumping of heavy steel feet reverberating off the glass windows.

_Looks like the Hero applicants got robots for their practical after all. Kacchan will be thrilled. He won't have to hold back._

After he was finished his lunch, he went to the washroom and changed into the costume his mother had made him. At first he was worried it might be too small, but It fit like a glove. Unlike his old Spider-Man costume, this one was actually quite comfortable. He didn't know what material she had used, but he could tell it was expensive.

 _Looks like I’ve got a lot to learn…_ Izuku thought wistfully as he examined his reflection in the bathroom mirror.

Walking back to the exam hall, he saw that everyone else had changed into their costumes as well. Most of them were heavily mechanized with wires, servos, and gizmos galore being a common theme. Compared to their extravagant machinations, he looked downright plain in comparison.

 _I wonder where they got the gear? They must’ve made it themselves for the test. Hm._ Thought Izuku as he studied the outfits on display, _Well, whatever. All that metal would just slow me down anyway._

As he admired the tech, he saw that the pink haired girl was also quite nondescript with her costume. She was wearing the clothes she had on during the test, only she had changed her shoes out for a pair of heavy metal boots.

_Those look like rocket boots. Where’d she get those? Did she build them…?_

He was surprised. Even for pro heroes, rocket boots were virtually unheard of. As he considered the girl, Thirteen and Power Loader called for their attention.

'Is everyone ready? Good. We will now proceed to the practical examination course. If you would all please follow me…'

* * *

Izuku and the rest of the applicants followed Power Loader and Thirteen out the hall. Exiting the building, they began to walk along the tidy, red bricked pathway and towards the mysterious cluster of buildings separate from the main campus. Along the way, Izuku’s mind buzzed as he considered what UA could possibly have in store for them. The internet had been no help as it seemed as though the test changed each year. One thing was for sure though. Whatever the test was, he had to be careful with his abilities. As far as UA was concerned, he was just a muscle-bound book worm and he couldn’t risk blowing his cover even if it meant failing.

They continued on for a few minutes. After they had walked about a kilometer a large, squat, grey building came into view. Power Loader and Thirteen led them towards it. Nothing about its exterior gave any hint as to its purpose. Besides a single open archway allowing entrance, it had no windows or other openings whatsoever. From outside the archway, a series of corridors and passages which seemingly went off at random appeared to make up the interior.

Thirteen and Power Loader stopped just before the large, open entranceway. Turning, they faced the crowd.

'Well here we are. This is the special elimination maze we created to weed out some of you. Impressive isn't it?' Power Loader said fondly, sweeping his arms outward.

Everyone shared a look. They were all thinking the same thing.

_Elimination Maze?_

'The goal is simple: exit through the other side of the maze. If you cannot complete the maze within two hours of entering, then you will have failed.'

A tall, lanky boy raised his hand.

'Can we use our quirks?' asked the boy.

Thirteen’s heavy helmet bobbed.

'Yes, though bear in mind that's not what we're testing. You see, we aren't gauging you on your quirks or destructive power, but to see how you behave in an unfamiliar situation. This maze is designed to challenge your problem-solving skills as well as your versatility. That is the hallmark of the hero support department.'

She paused to survey the crowd before continuing.

'I see that most of you have brought gadgets and tools to help you through the exam. That's fine. You can use whatever you have with you, but a word of advice; Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. If you come across an obstacle, think about how you'll proceed first. Two hours may seem like a lot, but I promise you, you’ll need every moment.’

 _I wonder how much their gear will help them in there?_ Izuku wondered as he noticed his fellow applicants' uneasy glances.

'Now we'll be letting you in one at a time in one-minute intervals. If you encounter another student, just ignore them. I shouldn’t have to say this, but you’re not allowed to help each other or attack each other either.’

Thirteen inclined her helmet towards Power Loader and he grinned.

‘We’ve had a few applicants who think they’re in a battle royale. Can you believe it?’ Thirteen said, chuckling, ‘I shouldn’t laugh, but hey. At least it was entertaining. Oh yes, I should mention that the Elimination Maze is filled with cameras and we’ll be monitoring your progress. If you cannot continue, don’t panic. You won’t be stuck in there forever. Probably.’

The applicant’s worried faces were reflected back at them in Thirteen’s visor as she laughed again. Once she was finished, she brought her gloved hands together in a muffled clap.

‘So! Do we have any volunteers for who wants to go first? You'll be at a small disadvantage because nobody will have cleared a path yet, but I might be so inclined to evaluate the first few entrants more positively…'

Thirteen trailed off teasingly and Izuku's eyes widened.

_Given my condition, it's not enough that I do well. I need to impress whoever marks the exam!_

Izuku shot his hand in the air.

'Me! I'll go first!' he said loudly.

'No! I'll go!' cried the pink hired girl.

Izuku and the girl looked at each other in surprise.

'Usually nobody volunteers. Huh.’ Power Loader remarked to Thirteen before shrugging, ‘Okay, I heard the young man's voice first. Come on over.'

The crowd looked at him appraisingly as he Izuku sidled his way forward through their ranks. Leaving the group, he walked with Power Loader to the threshold of the building. Peering in, he could tell from the deeper shades of grey that it was quite dark in there. Thankfully he had his night vision, but he would probably have to fake being blind.

'Are you ready?' Power Loader asked gently.

'Y-Yes.' Izuku said.

'Alright. Go!'

Izuku took off running. Sprinting inside, he felt his face harden.

_Not too fast now, but I do need to leave an impression._

* * *

Dashing forward, Izuku scanned the walls around him. The passage he was in was a blank, featureless concrete that almost looked as though it was designed to be as nondescript as possible – which of course made it all the more suspicious. What surprises were there in store for him? Laser trip wires? Hidden blowguns? Whatever there was, he was ready.

Coming up on the first branching path in the maze he immediately turned right. Everybody knew the secret to solving a maze. Just follow the same wall and eventually you will emerge at the exit. Then again, if he knew it then doubtless the instructors knew it too. Maybe he had inadvertently chosen the hard way?

Keeping his pace up, he followed the twisting wall until he found himself confronted with a large pool of liquid that looked like water. Skidding to a halt, he studied the pool. It was around twenty metres long and ran the entire width of the hall. There was no way forward except over it or through it. Leaning down, he tested the liquid with his finger. From all appearances it was just regular water.

_I don't sense any danger. I must just have to swim across._

After a half second of hesitation he prepared to lower himself into the pool. Just before he did though, he felt a weight in his pocket.

_My smartphone!_

Reaching into his trouser pocket, he pulled it out.

 _It’s a good thing I remembered. Gee, I guess this is my only piece of gear._ He frowned as he noticed the screen. It was still broken after he dropped it while catching that baby.

_Sheesh, how many months ago was that? As soon as this test is over, I’m going to the mall and getting this stupid thing fixed._

Holding his phone above the water, he slung his feet into the pool. Not wanting to test fate, he swiftly swam to the other end. The entire length of his swim he was expecting some trap to activate, but nothing happened. Hopping out the other side with a splash, he examined himself for damage.

_No piranhas or saw blades? Maybe this test is easier than I thought…_

Turning, he continued on his way, shoes squelching with every step. As he ran, something crossed his mind. All of those people back there in their heavy mechanical suits - how many of them could cross water?

_Could something so simple really beat some of them? I bet it might force a lot of them to take a separate path._

Eventually he came across another large room filled with pillars and low hanging obstacles. He could tell from the dark grey gloom that it was pitch black.

_Okay, so I'm supposed to be blind? I should have brought a flashlight._

Swiping open his smartphone, he activated the anemic flashlight app. Slowing himself down to a believable speed, he hastily navigated through the room. Upon exiting, the lights returned and he turned his phone off.

_Better save my batteries. There might be more dark rooms and it'll be a pain pretending to be blind._

Turning around a corner, he saw a long stretch of empty hallway. Maintaining his pace, he ran down the passage. Turning the corner, he saw another identical corridor, then another after that, then another.

_I must have run almost a kilometer by now! Maybe I should start to act tired._

Finally, the long corridors ended and he came across two separate paths. Standing before the two passages, he slowed himself to a walk while he pretended to catch his breath. Choosing right again, he came across a deep pit. It was at least a five-meter fall. Gauging the distance to the other side, it was about a five-meter distance across as well.

_What's more believable, that I can run up a five-meter wall or jump across a five-meter pit?_

He rubbed his chin as he thought about what to do, painfully aware of the time he was wasting. Eventually he decided to try and jump the distance. Turning around he gave himself plenty of room for a running start before running and jumping across. His time navigating the slums had given him excellent control over his leaps and he was able to make it look like he just barely managed to clear the chasm. Rolling as he hit the ground, he continued forward without missing a beat.

Following the passage onward, he saw what appeared to be another intersection. Forward and to his left the passages continued, but on the right side wall there was a small hole in the wall which was just big enough for him to squeeze through. He checked the time on his phone. It had been twenty minutes since he had entered.

Kneeling down, he looked into the pitch black, narrow tunnel. It would be a tight fit.

_A confined space test? No problem. Hell, if I had a dollar for every vent I had to crawl through to spy on some drug dealer…_

Dropping down he started to snake crawl his way forward. The tunnel was gently angled in such a way that he couldn't see the exit, only the grey concrete of the tunnel in front of him. Despite his earlier confidence after a few minutes of inching his way forward he started to feel claustrophobic.

_This is nothing, Deku. Just keep moving._

After what felt like an eternity, he finally saw a light ahead of him. Suppressing the urge to increase his speed, he continued on until he reached the tunnel’s end. Clambering out, he pulled out his phone again and checked the time.

_Ten minutes to crawl through that? Give me a break, I'd better hustle up!_

Taking off again at a steady pace, he ran until he came to another intersection. Predictably there was another obstacle. Keeping right, he saw a closed steel doorway. Next to the heavy blast door was a number pad. Beside the pad there was a sequence of numbers on a separate screen.

The puzzle was as follows:

\- - 15 - - 36 - - 54 - - 67 - - 112- -

\- - 0.07 - - 0.125 - - ? - - 21.3 - - 9.62 - -

Izuku grinned. He loved these riddles. After a few minutes of puzzling he snapped his fingers. The cube of each sequence counting up to 5, subtracted from the number above, then divided by the difference gave the next number in the sequence!

_Easy peasy! I hope there are more of these!_

He dialed the number "one" into the keypad and selected confirm. Sure enough, the blast doors retracted and he ran through. As soon as he was past their threshold the doors clanged shut behind him.

As he ran, he thought about the test.

_Even without my secret powers if I was in good enough shape, I could have beat this test. If I had actually trained as much as I told everyone I had..._

It was a depressing thought. There had been a way open to him the whole time, he just didn't even consider it. Suddenly from up ahead he saw sunlight.

_There's no point pouting because you won the lottery and got super powers. Feel insecure later!_

Grinning, he resisted the urge to sprint as he came up on the exit. Running out the archway, he saw Thirteen waiting for him. Coming to a stop in front of her, he feigned exhaustion and panted.

‘M-Made it!’ he declared, wiping his mouth.

'Well done!' Thirteen said enthusiastically, 'First one in, first one out! That doesn't happen too often. I was watching your progress, and I must say, you're in great shape! I got a bit worried when I saw your only equipment was your phone, but hey! If it works, it works! Bravo!'

'Th-thanks!' Izuku said. He never would have dreamed he would ever receive such high praise from a hero, let alone a renowned hero like Thirteen.

'Well your results have been recorded. If you like you can stay here and wait for the other applicants or you can leave. Not everybody has entered the maze yet, so I can understand if you don’t want to stay.'

He wiped some imaginary sweat from his brow and straightened himself.

'Actually, I was wondering if I could watch the hero exams. I have a friend who's trying out for the hero program and I’m curious to see how he’s doing.’

'Ah. Sorry, you missed them. The last hero test should have concluded about half an hour ago.' Thirteen said.

'Oh.' he felt slightly disappointed, 'Well, I'll just go home then.'

'Okay, and congratulations on the excellent performance!'

'Thanks! Hopefully I'll see you later!'

At that he went back to the washroom and changed out of his costume. Though he wouldn't find out if he was accepted for another few days, he couldn't help but feel sure that he had passed.

* * *

Ochaco felt totally numb as she shuffled up the squeaky, old staircase of the cramped apartment building that she and her parents lived in. The UA exams had been as devastating as she had feared it would be. Worse if such a thing was even possible.

She thought back to the exam and groaned as a fresh wave of nausea washed over her. Even with all the secret practice she had been doing to train her quirk, she still felt as sick as a dog. A surge of bile worked its way up her throat and she quickly stopped walking. The hideous vomit coloured walls and smelly, discoloured carpet weren’t doing her any favours. Wincing, she managed to swallow the bile back and resumed her way forward. Coming to a stop before her door, she reached for her keys. Before she could however, the door suddenly flung open revealing her mother.

'You're back!' she said breathlessly, 'How did it go? Did you overuse your quirk? Are you feeling well?'

Ochaco mumbled unintelligibly in response. Stumbling forward in a daze, she let her mother guide her to the shared kitchen/living room. Plopping down on the one sofa they had, Ochaco felt as though she could pass out right there and then.

'Are you sick? Talk to me sweetie, do you want a glass of water?'

Ochaco blinked. Looking up, she saw her mother’s worried face. Mustering her strength, she tried to adopt a happy expression, though the best she could do was a strained, thin lipped smile.

'No. I'll be alright. Why are you home? I thought you had to work tonight.'

Both of her parents worked as construction workers and general contractors, but lately there had been a lull in jobs. Because of this, Ochaco's mother had found some part time work at a local diner as a waitress. It was hard work with low pay, but at least it was something.

'Oh, I called in sick. I couldn't let my daughter come home from her big test without a proper reception! So, don't leave me in suspense! How'd it go?' asked her mother eagerly.

Ochaco sighed. Where to begin?

'Well, the written test was absolutely horrible. I probably got the lowest score out of everyone there. I swear as soon as I walked out, I just knew I did half of everything wrong. And as for the practical exam, I really have no clue. We had to destroy as many robots as we could and I think I did okay, but I don't know. I sure looked stupid that’s for sure. Flailing my arms around like a _goon_. I bet they think I’m deranged or something. Plus…I, uh, got a little bit sick after the exam was over.’ Ochaco mumbled miserably, ‘They’ll probably dock marks for that too…’

'Oh, you're such a pessimist.' teased her mom, tussling her hair, 'I know you did great. Come on, tell me more about the test. How many other students were there? Did you….'

Ochaco did her best to answer all her mother's questions but the truth was she could barely remember anything that had happened. It was all like a blur to her. Not only was the test hard, but the other applicants had all been so strong. All she could do was hope and pray that she was accepted. Her parents deserved better than some shitty apartment beneath the Grey Towers; working two jobs just to make ends meet. 

Somehow, someway she’d become a famous hero. And when she did her parents would never have to worry about money again.

* * *

A couple days later while the exam participants were all still worrying back home, Power Loader and Thirteen were cooped up in their shared office, busily reviewing the support department exams.

Power Loader sighed heavily as he tried to decipher one student's messy handwriting. As fun as it was to create the obstacle course, marking the exams was hell. He and Thirteen had been hard at work correcting for the last two days, and they weren't even close to being halfway done yet.

'We should really find a way to make the exam multiple choice. Or we should get paid overtime.' Power Loader grumbled as he drained the last of his coffee.

Thirteen mumbled in acknowledgment. She was slouched over her desk and twirling her red pen as she read. Power Loader recognized her posture.

'You got a good one?'

'Yeah.' she replied, not looking up from the paper, 'Not a single mistake yet.'

'Oh? How did this person do on the practical exam?'

'She did pretty good. She was the pink haired girl who came out the maze fourth, remember? The one with the rocket boots. Mei Hatsume.'

Power Loader scowled as he tried to focus and recall the girls face. Eventually he broke through his marking stupor and nodded.

'Ah yes, I remember. Pink hair, yellow eyes. A visual enhancement quirk, right? Hmm…well good for her.'

'Yeah. She's a pass for sure. So far that makes three, how about you?' Thirteen said as she stretched her arms behind her back.

'None. I swear, this happens every year. I always get all the bad ones.' Power Loader moaned before shooting Thirteen a sharp glance.

She had turned her helmet towards him and crooked her neck slightly. He couldn't see her face through her visor, but he was willing to bet anything she had a stupid grin on her face. Reluctantly, he went back to work. Putting his elbow on his desk, he rested his head in his hand as he considered the scrawling chicken scratch on the paper before him. Sighing, he tucked it into the bottom of the pile and grabbed a fresh exam.

'Let's see…Izuku Midoriya. You're up next.' he mumbled.

Power Loader started to read. After a few minutes he began to subconsciously twirl his pen.

* * *

Dr. Akatani was standing in his office, a tumbler of whisky in hand as he mutely concentrated on the massive map of the city he had pinned to his wall. The map had taken months to assemble and represented countless hours of detective and surveillance work. Covering the map was a series of red pins, circles, and dots connected by lines. Each marker represented a sighting or incident in which Spider-Man had been involved.

They had been so close to making a breakthrough. Another few weeks and they would have been able to pinpoint his egress and ingress points into the slums and then it would have been a simple matter of retrieval.

But about four months ago all sightings of Spider-Man had ceased. Why that could be was anybody's guess. It was possible that Spider-Man had gotten cold feet. Between the public alerts and the increased police presence he could have come to the conclusion that his moonlighting as a crime fighter wasn't worth throwing his life away in prison and he simply went back to his normal life. Or he could have retired for different reasons. Vigilante work took a toll on the mind and body after all and his last confirmed sighting had been at the now infamous underground brothel which was currently dominating political discourse in Musutafu - what a dog fight that was! - and it would not be unreasonable to assume that after witnessing the worst that the city had to offer the thrill of vigilantism just wasn't there anymore.

There was also a strong possibility that he was killed in action. The police had received several tips that Spider-Man had rushed off to confront a gang leader somewhere in the slums and had never returned. This was the worst-case scenario. If they could only recover a body, then depending on the state of decomposition, it might not even be worth the effort to perform an autopsy.

All this work and all he had were more questions. Had he been killed? Did he give up? Or was he in a different city, with a new costume and a new identity?

He took a sip of his drink. He had been through this map countless times. If there was some pattern here, he would have surely found it by now. But still, he couldn't just give up.

'Where are you Spider-Man?' he whispered to himself.

* * *

Principal Nezu sat alone in his office in the UA administration centre, merrily munching away at a salty biscuit while he considered the student portfolio in front of him. The student's name was Izuku Midoriya from Aldera Junior High and he was one of the many applicants for the Hero Support Department. Given his performance during the testing, his inclusion into the program should have been a none issue – he had managed to achieve an impressive score on both the written and practical exams – but this was a special case.

According to his paperwork, Mr. Midoriya was quirkless. There had never been a quirkless individual in either of the hero programs at UA before. Nezu had nothing against quirkless people, in fact he found the prospect of having a quirkless hero an excellent opportunity to demonstrate tolerance. The quirkless had a very difficult life in modern society and a quirkless hero could serve to inspire the disenfranchised.

Still, this wasn't a decision to be made lightly. Even though Mr. Midoriya had passed his examinations and was qualified to attend school as he was now, that did not mean that he would be able to continue to keep up with his classmates. The practical exams were designed to determine potential. It was understood that after being accepted into UA, the students would develop their potential through an extensive training regime, namely by improving their quirks and that was something Mr. Midoriya could never do.

According to his junior high school principal, Mr. Midoriya had been training for years. But the human body had definitive limits and principal Nezu doubted that he could become much faster or stronger than he was now relative to his classmates. Still, the discipline required to reach his level of fitness coupled with his intelligence was remarkable.

Nezu took a sip of tea. His mind was made up. UA would have it's first quirkless student. There were many heroes who had objectively weak quirks and yet they were extremely useful under the right circumstances. Surely someone like Izuku Midoriya, with his discipline and talent, could be of use to society.

Nezu remembered when he received a request for information from Aldera three months ago. He had indulged the request mostly out of his own curiosity to see what would come of it. He never would have imagined that there was a student intellectually strong enough to review the material in that short a time and score so highly on the exam.

Signing his approval, Nezu stretched himself out contentedly on his chair. Taking another sip of tea, he pictured what the other staff would make of his decision. He remembered when he had first tried to become a hero there had been an outcry as well. Nezu was a chimera of sorts bearing the traits of several animals including a dog's paws, a bear's face, and the body of a mink. Physically he was unimpressive, a normal adult could overpower him easily, however he possessed a keen intellect and while he couldn't fight the same way someone like All Might could, he had the capability to out maneuver his enemies with strategy and a cunning that few could match. If he could be a licenced hero, why couldn't Midoriya?


	12. A Fresh Start

Izuku sat at his desk, bent over a scrap book with his notebook open at his side. Every once and a while he would jot something down or flip back to check some detail as he continued to develop his Spider-Man persona. Now that his exams were done and he had nothing better to do, he had no excuses left. He had enough working mechanical knowledge that he felt sure he could come up with _something_ to address the core problems with the way he fought.

The first problem was his lack of mobility. Knuckleduster carried a grappling hook and according to him, even that small increase in versatility was enough to gain the upper hand on many opponents. With his superior senses, Izuku felt certain that he could take advantage of an even more extreme version of the grappling hook concept to give himself unparalleled mobility both in and out of combat.

The second problem that Knuckleduster had pointed out was his lack of ranged options. Izuku considered a variety of thrown projectiles, like knives or bombs, but he didn't want to overburden himself with gear. If he could combine his enhanced mobility concept with his ranged weaponry then he wouldn't have to worry about fumbling with equipment in the middle of a battle.

And lastly, he needed to be unconventional in his approach to all of these problems to make his opponents unbalanced. At first, he didn't think much of this dilemma. But as he went through a few potential ideas and their strengths and weaknesses, he realized that because he was putting all his eggs in one basket with a single weapon system, he needed it to be as novel as possible to avoid being immediately countered.

Lowering his pencil, Izuku looked over his latest creation. Even for someone as inexperienced as him, it was a crude design.

_Too bulky and complicated. I bet you it would break every other week. Not to mention I have to build the damn thing._

He put down his sketchbook and sighed. Gazing out his window, he saw a spider building its web at the corner of the building.

_The longer Spider-Man is off the streets, the more the people of the slums will suffer._ He thought as he watched the spider spin its web. _Every moment counts out there. But what can I do? If I encounter Shocker again I need to have the means to take him down._

Suddenly an unfortunate fly flew into the spider's web and became trapped. Izuku watched in morbid fascination as the spider quickly danced across its threads towards its prey. Fast as lightening, it wrapped the frantically buzzing fly up in silk while it continued to struggle in vain.

_What a terrible way to die._ He thought as he watched the fly get cocooned.

He shot up in his chair. It was so obvious! All of the problems he was facing had already been solved by the common spider! The weapon the spider had created was its web! It enabled control of its environment and could surprise its prey in equal measure. In addition, some species could swing across their webs to travel long distances and others even shot their webs at their prey to immobilize them. It was perfect!

Reinvigorated, he flipped his book open to a fresh page. With barely contained excitement, he began to translate the design from his mind into a workable schematic. He had so much energy that his hands From that point on he toiled over his design ceaselessly, barely pausing for rest. If it wasn't for his mother's insistence, he likely would have forgone meals too as he hardly noticed his body’s needs. He had never felt this way before. Working on this weapon was a transformative experience. He had always daydreamed about certain gadgets or tools but he had lacked the knowledge to turn his creative energy into anything substantial. However, now that he had some understanding of what he was doing, there was nothing stopping him from exploring the concepts his mind created fully, from fantasy to reality.

After three days of nearly nonstop work, he at last let his pen rest. His creation was simple, compact, and uniquely suited to his quirk. Basing his weapon around a wrist mounted design similar to Shocker's gauntlets, he had created a highly pressurized liquid projection platform. This platform, which he had termed "web-shooters", would use a binary chemical compound that would massively increase in viscosity upon being mixed and ejected from his launchers. He intended this "web solution" to have a variety of uses.

Its primary function would be as a powerful adhesive to immobilize his foes. When he had first started crimefighting, he had used zip ties to restrain defeated criminals but he quickly realized they were largely ineffective as many villains had quirks that allowed them to escape. But if they were cocooned in this special polymer web, it would be far less likely that anyone could break free, especially if he enhanced the compound with special characteristics.

First and foremost, the compound would be elastic. This would prevent villains from being able to tear through or use brute strength to escape while also allowing him to use the webbing to swing across great distances. The mixture he created was also fireproof and electrically insulated. Both of these characteristics were easily achieved in a synthetic polymer.

The greatest challenge was its longevity. The compound he needed for his web-shooters couldn't last for very long. Otherwise the streets and any villains he webbed would be gummed up forever. By making his compound inherently unstable, he was able to achieve a maximum web solution lifetime of twelve hours before it rapidly decayed into paste, assuming his math was correct.

He flipped through his notes and examined his work. It was a confusing jumble of diagrams, jotted formulas, and long-winded explanatory sentences that curled around the page; too confusing for anyone he knew to understand. Hell, he could barely understand it.

'All of the chemistry is theoretical. I'm going to need a properly equipped lab to test the formula but presumably UA has one I could borrow. Assuming I got accepted that is…' he muttered.

'Oh, don't worry. I'm sure you got accepted, honey.'

'Eeek!' Izuku screamed whirling around and clutching his chest in shock. His mother was standing right behind him!

'Wh-Wh-Where did you come from?' he gasped.

_Why didn't my spider sense warn me?!_

'Oh, I've been here for a while sweetie. I see you're designing more gizmos and stuff. Can I take a looksie?'

She leaned over and attempted to push past but he blocked her.

'What? No! You wouldn't…I mean it's not…just-just get out of here! Come on, Mom!'

'Okay, okay. I'm just worried for you, that's all. You should take a break and go for a jog or something. Get some fresh air, maybe you'll meet a girl or something.'

Izuku took a few gulping deep breaths as she turned and walked out of his room. As soon as she was gone, he stashed away his notebook in the depths of his desk drawers.

_She probably wouldn't understand what any of that meant, but even so. Jeez, what does it take to get a little privacy around here? It's a good thing I wasn't…_

Suddenly he froze, a separate but equally horrifying thought had entered his mind. Fearfully he turned to his computer. His screen was on his homepage, but he had left a lot of tabs open. If she had read any of the titles…

Red faced, Izuku deleted his browsing history and closed all his tabs.

'She…she didn't see anything, did she? No. No, no, no. Definitely not! Why would she…? I mean…I guess its possible…' he muttered.

"… _maybe meet a girl or something…"_

Izuku took a long, deep breath.

'Fuck.' he whispered.

* * *

The next morning as Izuku was poking through the fridge for some milk for his cereal, the door to the apartment suddenly flew open and his Mom rushed inside. Her hair was a mess, her face was red, and her breathing heavy from running up the stairs.

'Izu! Izu! It's here!' His mom shouted as she rushed into the living room, a small envelope in her hands.

Izuku felt his heart stop.

'It's from UA.' she whispered; her eyes wide.

Leaving the refrigerator open, he numbly walked over. With trembling hands, he took the envelope from her and tore it open. Letting the envelope fall to the floor, he unfolded the paper within and started to read. The letter began:

Dear Izuku Midoriya

U.A. High School

On behalf of my fellow instructors I am delighted to acknowledge your application to attend U.A. High School for this upcoming school term beginning on the 9th of April. As per your preference you have been accepted into the Hero Support Program. The requirements for the Hero Support Department…

He stopped reading and lowered the letter.

'I got accepted! I'm in!' Izuku said feebly.

His mother squealed in excitement and dove into his arms, hugging him fiercely.

'Oh! Oh, I knew you would get in! I just knew it!'

Izuku didn't know what to do. He knew he had done well on both of the exams. He just figured that there would be some sort of catch. For years and years he had dreamed of being accepted into UA, but it had always seemed like an impossibility. For it to have actually happened left him at a complete loss. All he could do was stand there while his mother did her best to squeeze him flat.

A few seconds passed and he was vaguely aware of his mom releasing him and snatching the letter from his hands. While he stood there blinking in disbelief, she read the letter aloud. He barely heard her.

_I got in._

'It says here support heroes do not get to request a professionally made costume…'

Izuku stirred from his reverie.

'Yeah, I heard support hero students have to make their own. I was thinking I'd use your design.' he said and she smiled.

'Well, okay then. Oh my god! This is such a relief! Your father will be thrilled when he hears the news. We'll have to see if we can Skype him tonight.' She beamed at him, ‘Why so surprised, Izu? How could they not accept such a smart, kind-hearted, dashing young man like you?’

She laughed at his slack jawed expression. Without any further ado she started rambling about all the things they had to do. He’d need to get fitted for the UA school uniform of course, get a haircut, figure out the train schedule for his commute, and a thousand other things. While she rambled, Izuku slowly processed what had just happened. He, the quirkless loser from Aldera, was going to the most prestigious school in the country to become a professional hero.

The next few days were unbearably slow. He never would have imagined that he would actually be excited to be going to school, but now he was heading off to learn something that he genuinely cared about and things would be different; he was sure of it.

After waiting in agony for what felt like an eternity, the first day of high school finally arrived.

* * *

Stepping off from the train, Izuku started to make his up the quiet street towards UA High School. When he had went to UA for his exams, he had been so distracted that he hadn’t payed any attention to the neighbourhood. This time though he could take his time to appreciate the scenery. The tree shaded street was spotlessly clean and lined with a variety of fancy glass windowed shops, upscale restaurants, and nifty businesses. Considering the importance of UA to the pedigree of Musutafu, everything was immaculate. A few of the people walking by took notice of his uniform and smiled at him. Each time he would sheepishly smile back. He couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride. He was attending the most prestigious hero academy in the country. True he did lie a little to get in, but it wasn't like he was being selfish. He was putting himself at significant risk of discovery so that he could receive the training he would need to save more lives, and who knows? Maybe one day Spider-Man could be an official hero too – as distant a possibility as that may be.

As he approached the main gates, he became aware of a crowd of press standing outside the academy entrance. Puzzled he cautiously approached, unsure of what was going on. Drawing nearer, a news woman who was standing in front of a camera started talking.

'We are in Musutafu where Japan's number one hero, All Might, has just announced that he is entering semi-retirement.'

Izuku gasped and nearly tripped over his feet as the journalist continued.

'In lieu of full-time hero work, he has taken up a position here, at U.A High School, to teach the next generation of heroes.' the camera man panned over the gate as the news woman kept talking. 'So far, All Might has declined to comment and all press are being told to respect the privacy of the students. It is unclear if All Might plans on making any statements today as he is presumably teaching.'

Izuku felt his chest tighten as he heard the news. Could it be that All Might was one of his teachers? He had wanted to meet his idol his entire life!

_Don't freak out Izuku! Don't screw up your first day by fanboying all over the school. Just be cool! If he comes to your class then talk to him…and if he doesn't then corner him in the parking lot. I'm sure he's used to it._

Creeping his way past the press to the school entrance, Izuku was able to slip inside without being noticed. Walking along the path towards the main building, his heart beat increased. Was All Might already in the building? What if they crossed paths in the hallway?

Entering the main building, he joined the other uniformed students as they went to their classes. According to his acceptance letter, classes at UA were organized via a number designation (one for first year, two for second year, and three for third year) followed by a letter which designated department. A and B were Hero Courses, while C through G were general education. Class H was hero support, while class I and J were the two business classes. Izuku was enrolled in class 1-H, the first-year hero support department class.

After a brief walk through the crowded hallways, he found himself standing in front of his homeroom door where he could hear voices inside. Smoothing down the front of his uniform and adjusting his trousers, he adopted what he hoped was a casual air and stepped inside.

Immediately he was struck with how spacious the room was. It was nearly twice the size of his old homeroom at Aldera Junior High despite having only half as many students. There were ten large work stations, five on the left and five on the right. Each one had two chairs. Currently the room was half filled with boys and girls his age, all excitedly chatting to one another. He groaned when he spotted the pink-haired girl from the exams. She was sitting at the front of the class, juggling around her laptop and water bottle as she rifled through her bag.

_Ugh, she passed? I'd better sit as far from her as possible. I'd rather not be annoyed all semester._

Choosing a spot at an unoccupied bench at the very back, he arranged his things and took his seat. Once he was settled, he observed his classmates.

As usual there were a few morphologically different individuals in the class. One had wings, another had scaled skin, but that wasn't anything to blink at nowadays. They all appeared to be normal teenagers. Judging from their appearance, you never would have guessed that they were candidates to become professional heroes.

As he sat and waited, more students entered the class and began to fill up the seats. Wordlessly a tall, lanky boy with black hair sat next to him and set down his stuff. While Izuku debated whether or not he should be the one to break the ice, Power Loader entered and the class quickly fell silent. Everyone was still and watchful as Power Loader set his own briefcase down by his desk and unpacked his things. After a few moments, he turned to them and gave them a small smile.

'Good morning everyone and welcome to class 1-H, hero support. If you are here, that means that you all scored to within the top five percentile of the written exam and completed the practical exam with an exceptional performance. Well done.' he said crisply.

Several students grinned and exchanged smug looks. Power Loader waited before continuing.

'However, a word of caution to you all. Do not become complacent. Statistically speaking, several of you will flunk out of this program before the end of the first semester. The coursework in this class is difficult. Truly, difficult.'

The smiles around the classroom waned.

'Now, you wouldn't be here if you weren't gifted. The fact that you passed the exam with such distinction proves that much. All of you are capable of succeeding in this class. My advice to you is to not let yourself get discouraged, ask for help if you need it, and don't be afraid of failure. We all make mistakes.'

Before he could continue the pink haired girl's hand shot into the air.

'When do we get to build stuff in the development studio?' she asked breathlessly and Power Loader chuckled.

'Eager to get started, are you? Well don’t worry. We have regular lab periods where you will be permitted to make use of the school's facilities. These are available for you to complete your assignment’s and pursue your interests as you see fit – I won’t try and babysit you _too_ much. However, I must stress that these facilities are only to be used under my supervision.'

Izuku rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Maybe he could construct his spider suit, web-shooters, and web solution after all?

'For today I was-' Power Loader paused. The pink haired girls hand was in the air again, 'Yes?'

'Are you in on the weekends or before and after school?'

Power Loader seemed taken aback.

'Um, well, yes.’

‘So we can come in and build stuff, like, whenever? Like, just show up and build?!’ the pink haired girl asked in an elated voice.

‘Yes.’ Power Loader said slowly, ‘But, I might not be in the lab every weekend. Usually I'm busy preparing for the Hero Courses exercises and I have a life too you know. I assure you, you will be kept busy with your own school work and will not have as much free time as you think.'

The girl looked unperturbed as she lowered her hand.

'Anyway, I have an exercise planned for us this afternoon, but for this morning I think it would be best if you all introduced yourselves. Let's see…' He scanned across the room before settling on Izuku, 'Ah, yes let's start at the back and go up in order.'

All of the classes eyes turned to Izuku. With a gulp he stood up from his chair.

'H-Hello, my name is Izuku Midoriya. Um…'

Izuku fidgeted as the class stared at him. He racked his brain for something to say, but he couldn't think of a single, solitary thing about himself that was interesting.

'That's it really.' he said quietly, sitting back down.

'Uh, Yes. Very good Midoriya.'

Embarrassed, Izuku shrunk in his seat as Power Loader turned to the boy next to him.

'Next we have…?'

The tall lanky boy stood up.

'Hi, my name is Moyashi. I'm from just outside Musutafu, but I went to school in the city. My quirk lets me act as a capacitator for electricity that I can discharge when I want to.'

Moyashi sat down and Izuku nodded politely with his other classmates though internally he was kicking himself for his clumsy intro.

_Why did I have to go first?! Damn it!_

One by one his fellow students introduced themselves. The last one to do so was the pink haired girl.

'Hi! My name is Mei Hatsume. My quirk lets me see up to four kilometers away. It's very useful for soldering electronics, no need for a microscope! Anyway, I came to UA to invent things and get rich! That's it!'

Izuku frowned slightly. He wasn't the only one.

_She's joined the Support Hero Program to sell stuff?_

However, if Power Loader found her answer odd, he made no sign of it. Instead he merely nodded.

'Very good. Well, I suppose its my turn. Many of you know me by my hero name “Power Loader”, but my real name is Higari Maijima. In class you may refer to me as Mr. Maijima. My quirk has given me fingers tipped with steel claws.'

Power Loader lifted one of his arms to show the class his hands. At the end of each one of his fingers was a metal tip that looked similar to a tooth at the ends of an excavator bucket.

'I use this claws in tandem with my armoured helmet and chassis to tunnel through the ground. Over the course of my career I’ve used this quirks for everything from rescuing trapped miners to ambushing villains inside their own hideouts. One time I even…’

_I wonder how fast he is in combat? His suit and hands may be well suited to tunneling, but can he hold his own in a fist fight?_ Thought Izuku as he focused on Power Loader's large hands.

He was well muscled, and obviously in great shape, but he had never seen footage of Power Loader actually confront a villain. Most of his battles were fought underground, if you could consider trapping someone beneath tons of rock and earth a fight.

_It seems like he's another fighter who relies on his superior mobility. If I were to fight him, how could I beat him?_

Snapping himself out of it, he forced himself to pay attention. He’d need to break his habit of zoning out all the time if he wanted to succeed. UA was a place for the elite.

'...but that was a long time ago. Amway, now that we've all gotten to know each other's names, let's go over the class rules and syllabus.'

The rest of the morning was spent learning the safety rules around the workshop and Power Loader's expectations for their work. The coursework was a mixture of both typical high school topics (such as English lessons, literature, history and so on) as well as the more eclectic fields of costume and gadget creation (advanced physics, engineering, chemistry, and calculus). It was an intimidating list to be sure, but Izuku felt like he was ready.

After Power Loader had finished his overview, Izuku and his classmates were dismissed for lunch. Entering the massive cafeteria hall, Izuku followed the herd to a free table. The cafeteria was packed to bursting with hundreds of students who were all excitedly talking about their first day. He flinched under the bombardment of sound. Despite being a school renowned for its Hero Program, UA still offered a full education for “regular” students and was one of, if not the largest school in the city.

Taking a seat with his classmates, Izuku began searching around the hall. His eyes travelled from table to table, until he found who he was looking for.

Sitting at a far table, was Bakugo; hastily devouring a hamburger while his fellow hero students chatted around him. Last week, Izuku had learned from Mitsuki's Facebook page that Kacchan had made it into the UA hero program. He smirked slightly. From the looks of things Bakugo was being antisocial as usual.

By chance Bakugo glanced his way and the two boy's eyes met. Bakugo lowered his hamburger and glared at him. Perhaps he was intending to come off as menacing, but the action of being intimidating with a hamburger in hand was particularly amusing to Izuku. Breaking out into a grin, Izuku waved cheerily. Bakugo rolled his eyes and returned to his meal.

'Who are you waving to, Izuku?' asked a girl's voice.

Izuku returned his attention to his own table. The voice belonged to girl around his height with blue eyes and straight, blonde cropped hair. For the life of him, he couldn't remember her name.

'Um, I was just waving to an old friend of mine from elementary school. S-Sorry I forgot your name, you are…?'

'My name is Kiska Kēki, nice to meet you.' she said courteously, 'What class is your friend in?'

He got in to the hero course.' Izuku said, trying his best to keep his stuttering out of his voice.

'Ah, I was going to try out for the hero course, but my quirk isn't well suited to destroying robots so I didn't bother.'

Her voice was friendly but he couldn't help but hear a note of bitterness. He could empathize. It seemed strange that the hero course would be geared so heavily towards destructive quirks when there were many successful heroes that would struggle to defeat a robot with their quirks alone.

'Did you want to join the hero program too?' Kiska asked him.

'Y-Yeah. But I didn't think I could bust up robots either. Not without some special equipment anyway.'

'Well, who wouldn't want to join the hero course?' interjected a surly boy's voice.

Izuku turned. It was the boy he sat next to in class, Moyashi. The lanky boy was absently twirling his spaghetti on his fork, not looking at either of them. Izuku looked at him puzzled.

'Your quirk is electrical storage and discharge, right? I would have thought that if you wanted to, you could have easily completed the hero test.'

'Hey, yeah!' Kiska added, turning to Moyashi, 'Destroying robots should be as simple as touching them, shouldn't it? You could just drain their batteries.'

'Yeah, you'd think so.' Moyashi said, smiling joylessly, 'But I don't have the fitness to join the hero class. I-I have asthma. It's pretty severe.' he finished irritably. Izuku's curiosity was piqued.

'Um, if you don't mind me asking, how did you complete the practical exam if you have severe asthma?' Izuku asked candidly.

Moyashi sighed. 'I walked for most of it. I think that of everybody who completed the practical exam I took the most time.' Moyashi paused to take a breath before continuing, 'I don't expect I'll last long in the support hero course either. Apparently, we have to do a lot of running around and exercise too.'

Izuku was silent. He didn't know what to say. All of a sudden Mei piped up from down the table.

'You should have joined the hero course and failed in style then!' she said between bites of her fruit cup.

The three turned to look at her.

'I-I thought about it. But I figured I might as well go for a ten percent chance of success then zero.' Moyashi said.

'Hm, whatever. If I were you, I would build some sort of…thing and stay in the game!' Mei said while she chewed. Kiska and Moyashi looked at each other and Izuku frowned.

'What would you build?' Izuku asked.

'Nuh-uh, I'm not telling! We're all competing with each other, aren't we? I don't want to give anyone else an edge!' Mei said in a sing song voice.

'Competing? We're all in the same class.' Izuku said incredulously.

Mei rolled her eyes and went back to her meal. At that, the conversation switched to everyone getting to know each other. Izuku tried his best to participate, but years of social isolation and insecurity left him mostly a mute participant. Still, he was at least thankful to be included in the discussion.

* * *

After lunch was over, Izuku and his classmates changed into their gym uniforms and went to the P.E. grounds. While they were waiting for Power Loader to turn up, the class began speculating.

'I wonder what sort of exercise Mr. Maijima wants us to do?' asked a boy with leathery wings who Izuku believed was named Bukimi.

'I hope its not like the entrance exam.' said Moyashi nervously.

'The entrance exam was easy-peasy.' said Mei waving her hand dismissively.

'Oh, yeah? You won't have your rocket boots with you this time.' retorted Moyashi.

'Well, er…' Mei paused, 'No one else will have any gear either! So I'm sure I'll do fine.'

Kiska turned to Izuku.

'Hey, you came in first place during the practical exam, didn't you?'

'Uh, yeah.' said Izuku, shifting uncomfortably.

'I saw you wearing a costume but I didn't see any gear on you when you ran the course. Did you complete the test using only your quirk?'

Izuku hesitated as Moyashi perked up and looked his way.

'Well yeah. I mean I didn't have any gear on me no. I did the test without…anything.'

'Huh. What was your quirk again?' Moyashi asked, frowning.

Several of Izuku's classmates who had been talking to one another quieted and turned towards him curiously. It struck him then that they still didn't know about his condition.

'Um…' Izuku stalled, scratching his ear.

_It was bound to come up eventually. I should break the news now before it looks like I'm trying to keep secrets from everyone. They'll think I'm overly sensitive or something._

'Well actually, I don't-'

But before he could finish, he was interrupted by the arrival of Power Loader.

'Hey! Come over here and gather around.' called out Power Loader from some distance away.

He was standing over by a running track with a clipboard in hand. At the sight of his teacher, Izuku was suddenly reminded of Mr. Ijime's fitness recommendation test and his spider sense tingled.

'We're going to have a Quirk Apprehension Test. The objective of this test is to give you all a sense of where your quirks are relative to each other as well as to show you how your quirks can be used to give you an advantage. Up until now, you have all been actively discouraged from using your quirks. You've been told that you are all the same. However, that ends now. While you are here at UA, you can consider your quirks as tools. Use them how you see fit to accomplish your tasks.'

The class looked at each other gleefully as Power Loader continued.

'Not all of you will have quirks that will give you an advantage in every situation. It's important to see where your natural affinities lie and what the limitations of your quirk are. Midoriya.'

Izuku snapped up.

'Y-Yes, Mr. Maijima?'

‘Come join me. You’ll serve as a baseline. We'll start with a 50m dash.' he said as he pressed a few buttons on a nearby console beside the yard.

Spider-sense tingling, Izuku moved through the crowd of his peers and approached the start line. Taking a deep breath, he crouched down into position.

'There is a laser running across the start and stop line so you may proceed when you're ready. Or would you prefer if I gave you a signal?'

'Yeah, that would be best.' Izuku said.

_Not too fast._

'Alright…Go!'

At Power Loader's command, Izuku took off at his preferred "Normal Person" sprinting speed. Making sure to keep his speed even, he bolted down the track. Crossing the line in what felt like an acceptable time, he slowed himself and trotted back to where Mr. Maijima stood waiting.

'5.3 seconds. Incredible, Midoriya. I know you received a special recommendation for fitness, but even so.'

A pang of guilt washed over him at Power Loader's praise.

'T-Thanks.' he said softly, intensely aware of his classmates silently regarded him.

_Let's hope I don't stand out from everyone else too much._

'All right, now that we have a baseline. Let's have everyone else try. Line up and let's go.'

Izuku watched from the sidelines as his classmates all ran the 50 metres one by one. He kept his appearance as calm as possible, but inwardly he was cringing at the results he was seeing. None of them seemed to have very applicable quirks to running. The next closest time to Izuku was 6.2 seconds. Pretty fast, but from what Izuku remembered when he was researching plausible run times that was only slightly above average.

Once everyone had finished Power Loader jotted down the results in his clipboard. As he wrote, Izuku avoided looking at anyone and instead pretended to be fascinated with the clouds. All of his classmates were rosy cheeked and a few of them were breathing heavily. To his dismay, it seemed as though he would be undefeated in most if not all of the events that Power Loader had planned. Moyashi in particular was hunched over, hands on his knees as he struggled to breath.

'Okay. Next up let's do the grip strength test. Midoriya, we'll go with you first again…'

* * *

As Power Loader finished tallying up the day’s test scores in his clipboard, Izuku stood uncomfortably immaculate amongst his dishevelled and panting classmates. It was as he had feared. With the exception of the grip strength test and the pitching test, Izuku had come in first place in every other test by a country mile. Even in the grip strength test and pitching test his score had landed him in a close second place. It seemed as though his classmates, academically strong as they were, weren’t particularly physically inclined.

After Power Loader had recorded the results he turned to the class.

'I must confess, I am somewhat surprised at what I'm seeing. The majority of you only managed an average score at best; hardly becoming of heroes. You will all have to work as hard as you can to try and close the gap between yourselves and Midoriya.'

The class looked at each other shamefully. The bat winged boy Bukimi shrugged.

'Well, I mean if I may speak in our defence; Midoriya's quirk is uniquely suited to the fitness exam. You said yourself that some quirks are more advantageous for certain tasks than others.'

Power Loader was silent. He looked at Izuku then back to Bukimi.

'Midoriya's quirk?'

'Yes, I assume he has a physical enhancement type quirk that gives him an edge?' Bukimi prompted, looking at Izuku for some reassurance. Izuku stared back at him wide eyed.

_Crap. Here it comes…_

'I see.' Power Loader said slowly. He turned back to Izuku, 'Midoriya, I gather you haven't told your classmates about your quirk situation yet. Well now is as good a time as any. Tell us, what is your quirk?'

Everyone was looking at him now. Shrugging helplessly, he sighed.

'I, uh. Don't have one.' Izuku admitted, grinning sheepishly.

His class all glanced at each other, certain that they must have misheard.

'Yes, that's right.' Power Loader said before any of them spoke, 'Midoriya is quirkless. He was able to achieve the top score in the practical and written exams- '

Power Loader was suddenly interrupted by a shocked gasp from Mei.

'H-He got the top mark in the written exam? Like, the entrance exam? Is-is that what you just said?' Mei asked in a high-pitched voice.

'Yes, both exams.' replied Power Loader curtly. Mei slumped over, slack jawed. While she and the rest of the class looked on stunned, he continued.

'And he did it without the advantage of a quirk. Now, Midoriya presents me with a very rare opportunity. An objective baseline to determine the class average. If you cannot beat Midoriya, who has none of your natural abilities…'

_I don't like where this is going._ Thought Izuku as a chill ran up his spine.

'…then it stands to reason that you are not trying hard enough. I expect you all to close the gap with Izuku over the course of the semester. If you can't, well…then maybe general education is a more suitable place for you.'

Power Loader finished by looking over at Moyashi who stared back grimly. He had performed the worst.

'I have recorded your marks. Get dressed and return to class. We'll have a quick lab demonstration at the design studio before we break for the day. Dismissed.'

The class all turned away from Power Loader and towards Izuku. Their faces were filled with a mixture of apprehension and envy. Somehow, he doubted this little revelation was going to make him very popular.

As he walked back to school with his classmates, Mei bounded up to him.

'How'd you get top marks!?' she demanded, heedless of his personal space as she practically pressed into him.

'I-I-I work out a lot and-!' Izuku started, before Mei scoffed over him.

‘I’m talking about the physical test, _obviously_! The written exam! How’d you get top marks?!’

‘I stu-studied!’ he stammered, trying to retreat but she followed him, a dangerous glint in her eye.

'Are your parents support heroes? Did they tell you about the test or something?' she asked, her yellow cross-hair like eyes tracking his own green pupils intensely as though trying to see into his mind.

'N-No! My parents aren't heroes.'

'Well, what prep school did you go to then? Was it under a support hero or a partnership program with the University?'

'I didn't go to one of the prep schools or anything. I went to Aldera Junior High.'

As guilty as he felt right now for humiliating everyone earlier, the expression of frantic concern on Mei's face was a small condolence. He was willing to bet that she had always been the top of her class wherever she went and now that she had some real competition, she must have figured that he beat her with some sort of trick.

'Aldera Junior High…' she repeated to herself quietly, drifting away from him.

Izuku's spider sense stirred and he looked after her with concern.

_I hope she doesn't try to look up my school records or anything._

* * *

Following the Quirk Apprehension Test Izuku was thoroughly questioned by his fellow male students in the locker room then a second time by his fellow female students in the hallway on the way to class. He explained to them that he had started training a while ago in preparation for the hero course, but his quirk never manifested. Rather than give up, he chose to try and become a support hero where he could use his book smarts to hopefully develop some gadgets and tech to assist heroes.

Much to his annoyance, Mei was particularly interested in this fact.

'So, you're planning on opening a studio to develop gadgets and costumes?' she asked, walking sideways down the hallway so she could face him.

'Yes.' Izuku responded tiredly before he caught himself, 'Well, actually, I'm not sure. Maybe.'

'Do you…design a lot of stuff?'

'Not really.' Izuku said, retrieving his phone from his pocket.

'Ha! I design stuff all the time!' Mei said with a smug smile. Izuku nodded absently. He was busily scrolling through the next weeks weather report, 'I'd show you but I don't want you stealing all my ideas! You'd never guess though how great my babies can be! No hints, but I make the _best_ stuff. Hey, your phone screen is broken. Do you know how to fix a phone screen? I do. I would have thought everyone here knew that much at least. Do you want to know how? It's easy!'

This continued all the way to the development studio. Upon entering the studio her attention was mercifully diverted by all the equipment on display. Power Loader was waiting for them inside.

'Welcome to my development studio.' Power Loader said, a measure of pride in his voice as he gestured to the equipment around him.

Izuku joined the rest of the class in marvelling at the many devices and pieces of equipment. Near the wall, he spotted a machine specially designed to fabricate costumes out of durable materials.

_This is exactly what I need to build my Spider-Man equipment!_ Thought Izuku as he eyed the machinery hungrily.

'As a licenced support hero, I am authorized to perform basic modifications to student's costumes or create accessories at their behest. Besides servicing the students, this is also where I design and create my own pieces of equipment. One day you may have your own development studio or work in one for one of the hero agencies. A support hero's workshop is in many ways a manifestation of their experiences. My whole career as a hero can be seen in this workshop. I ask you to treat this place with respect.'

Izuku and his classmates listened solemnly while Power Loader went through his speech about the rules and safety precautions for the lab. With the exception of Mei, of course. She seemed more interested in the tools lining the walls. Once Power Loader was finished explaining the rules, he gave them their first assignment.

'You may have heard that the hero students already had costumes professionally made for them. Well in support you will make your own. Over the course of the semester, as you come to understand your quirk and the role you can fulfill, you will gradually tweak and refine your design until you have an efficient and refined costume to suit your needs.'

Izuku bit his lip. He hadn't given much thought to how his quirkless persona would fight or what sort of support hero he would be. It wasn’t like he could base himself off of anyone.

'For today I want you to come up with something that you think you can incorporate into your hero costume. It can be anything. Whatever you design we'll build over the course of the week and evaluate. You may begin.'

At his command the students all excitedly scattered towards one of the many drafting table stations. Izuku stood still while all of his classmates rushed past him.

_They're off building just like that? I don't even know how I'm going to fight yet, let alone what I'm going to build for myself!_

While he hesitated, Power Loader turned to him. 'Is there a problem, Midoriya?' he asked.

He jumped slightly, 'N-No sir!'

'Well then get to it. You can't afford to waste any time in my class.'

'Right!'

He walked over to an empty drafting table next to Moyashi who was already sketching out his own design. Drawing out a piece of empty paper, he stared at it blankly.

_Maybe I should start with the fundamentals. What does every super hero need?_

He thought back to his meeting with Knuckleduster. He had stressed mobility and giving yourself options. The ability to surprise your opponent and to engage at a distance if you needed to.

_Knuckleduster has a grappling hook, I suppose I could build one for myself as well. But is that enough to get by?_

If he was going to be a successful quirkless super hero he would need all the versatility he could get. He would have his grappling gun and more besides if he could manage it.

Grabbing a pen, he set himself to work on a pneumatic launcher. It wasn't difficult to do as he had already explored the concept when he was designing his web-shooters. The trick was to make it distinct enough from his web-shooters so nobody could guess its origin while also maintaining functionality. Slowly he felt his anxiety fade away. He was in familiar territory again.

As he sketched the trigger mechanism, he felt his spider sense flare up. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mei keenly peering over at his drafting table from across the room. Shifting himself on his chair, he put his elbow up on the table and blocked her view. To his satisfaction, he heard her let out an annoyed scoff and he grinned to himself.

After working for around three hours, Izuku finished transcribing his design. His gun could fire a grappling hook but it could also fire anything else that he could build into a twenty-millimetre wide cigar shaped casing. That would give him plenty of space to explore options for different types of ammunition.

Satisfied, he looked around the room. Many of the other students seemed to still be hard at work, though a few were finished, including a smug faced Mei.

'Alright everyone, we're out of time. If you're finished, you can leave your work up at the front and we'll go over them tomorrow. If you didn't finish today, take your work home and finish it. We will go over them tomorrow. Class dismissed.'

Approaching the front desk with his paper, Izuku stopped upon noticing Mei. She was nonchalantly leaning over the submission tray with her phone out, casually browsing, but he could tell she was up to something. Izuku watched as someone passed by her to hand in their work. As they put the paper on the desk, a tiny red light on her phone would briefly flash.

_Clever. She must have modified her phone so she could take pictures noiselessly. Actually, that's pretty creepy come to think of it. Well I won't let her spy on me so easily!_

Folding his paper, Izuku timed it so that his submission was buried underneath someone else's. As he turned to leave, he was pleased to hear Mei growl under her breath in frustration. She couldn't root around in the pile with Power Loader in the room.

Whistling cheerfully, Izuku left the development studio and headed home.

_That wasn't so bad._

* * *

The afternoon sun streamed through the large open window and into a messy bedroom. Large posters of heavy machinery and weapons covered the walls beside a chalk covered blackboard, its dull surface covered in equations and formulas. The floor was littered with a mixture of disassembled toys, tools, and empty cans of energy drinks. In the corner of the room was a messy bed more like a sparrow nest then a proper sleeping space. Its covers were thrown back and the rumpled sheets were half-buried with electronics and magazines.

The fragile tranquility of the room was instantly shattered as the door burst open. Mei stomped in, fresh from her commute home. Tossing her school things unceremoniously over her shoulder, she rushed over to her computer, scattering junk across the floor as she went.

'Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why did I leave the test early? I should've stayed…'

Reaching her desk, Mei impatiently wiggled her mouse to wake up her computer. After misspelling her password a few times, she finally logged in. Opening her browser and searching for Aldera Junior High, she quickly found the school website.

'Let's see…faculty…classes…hero support program…hero support program…where are you?' she muttered while she scanned through the page.

Nobody beat Mei Hatsume at exams. Nobody! She had been preparing for months. Well, mostly preparing. She had relapsed back into DOTA 6 for a month or two prior, but even so she had memorized all the material. Whoever this green haired what's-his-face was, he must have had some inside information or cheated or something.

Mei scowled as she read through the school class list. From the looks of things, it was just a basic junior high school. They didn't list any advanced science program or prep school or anything. Mei rubbed her forehead. She could feel a headache coming on. Grabbing her smartphone, she dialed the school office number. It wasn't quite five o'clock yet so somebody might still be in. After a few rings someone answered.

'Aldera Junior High, reception speaking.' intoned a nasally woman's voice.

Mei jumped out of her chair. Placing a hand over her mouth, she disguised her voice as best she could.

'Ooooh, helloo! This is, uh…' Mei frantically racked her brain for a plausible name, 'Georgio Recandio!' _Perfect!_ 'I'm calling because I was hoping you could give me some information about your prep classes for UA. Do you, uh, know anything about that or…?'

Mei waited eagerly as she heard some shuffling noises come from over the line.

'Uh, for UA?' inquired the voice in a confused tone.

'Yes, yes. For UA High School.' Mei said impatiently, 'I was wondering what programs you have available for, um, like, giving the students a leg up on the competition. You know; AP classes and what-have-you.'

'We have no programs like that here at Aldera.' replied the voice.

Mei hesitated and her fake voice wavered.

'No…no AP programs or anything?' she asked tentatively.

'No. We only offer the basic classes from grade seven to nine here.'

'Oh.' Mei said, her voice dropping back to normal.

'If you like Mr. Recandio I can-'

At that Mei hung up her phone, there was no point in continuing the conversation. Sitting back down, she rested her hand on her hot forehead. Had he just been messing with her? She groaned. She didn't like being kept out of the loop! She was supposed to be the one messing with people, not the other way around! Who did this freckly guy think he was? He couldn't be for real, could he?

She forced herself to laugh. Why should she feel intimidated by him? As soon as class started in earnest, she would crush him easily. She had seen his rudimentary design in the development studio today. Admittedly she hadn't gotten as good a look as she would have liked, but she could tell it was a gun of some sort. Lame. She could build any kind of gun she wanted.

But then, a terrifying new possibility occurred to her. What about the lessons outside of the classroom? The physical exercises and so forth. Power Loader had said that he planned on using the green boy as a baseline. Did she have to beat him at that too? Couldn't she just build a thing to make her run faster?

Moaning piteously, she slid halfway down her chair. She really hoped she didn't have to do too much exercising. She fought with her brain! Leave the weight lifting to the chumps.

Snapping herself back up, she strode over to her backpack and retrieved her blueprint for the improved rocket boots she was designing. Initially she had planned on turning it in after class for some easy extra credit, but after learning that she had been upstaged during the exams she figured that her design could use a little extra spice to put her back in the spotlight.

Grabbing a pen from her desk, she got to work. They would be bigger, more powerful, more dramatic. As she worked, she grinned. She was going to knock everyone's socks off.


	13. Practice

The next day while setting his things down in his homeroom, Izuku overheard that All Might was teaching the Foundational Heroics Studies lesson with class 1-A and he was practically green with envy. Bakugo was probably having the time of his life with All Might while he was busy fending off Mei from his workbench.

_It's a good thing I have so much dexterity._ Thought Izuku as he blocked Mei with his back while simultaneously juggling his tools with one hand and spooling some wire with the other.

Power Loader sure liked to keep them all busy. After checking over their designs he immediately set them to work constructing their new piece of equipment. In addition to building this new piece of gear, he also expected them to fabricate the first iteration of their hero costume for that Friday as well. While they toiled, Power Loader watched them work carefully.

'Normally you would need to register your hero costumes with the government, but as your costumes are little more than body armour at this point, we can hold off on registering them until later in the year when you have a more workable design. I expect you will go through several versions of your costume over the months as you come to understand what role you can fulfill as a hero through our field excercises.’

‘Yeah, about those field exercises,’ began Mei slowly, ‘What if we know more or less what we want to specialize in right now? I’m more of a designer and builder myself and-‘ 

‘Nice try, Hatsume, but the field work is a requirement.’

Izuku could hear Mei start grumbling as she returned to work on her rocket boots and he grinned to himself. According to their syllabus, field work accounted for nearly half of their grade.

He turned his attention back to his work. He couldn’t afford to let himself get cocky. While it was true that he had done exceptionally well on the Apprehension Test yesterday, his work in the lab was what really concerned him. He didn’t even know the name of half of the stuff he was using. A few times he had wasted precious minutes by staring blankly into the tool drawers looking for the right screw driver or wrench. Still, he was making good progress on his grappling gun and he had all his costume measurements figured out. He just needed access to the fabricator computer so he could create his costume blueprint.

The costume fabricator worked off of a proprietary design software. You created the costume you wanted first in the software, then uploaded your design to the fabricator which would automatically create the costume from your specifications using the available materials. The process took a few hours, but it was completely autonomous. Many of his peers had already tinkered with the software in one form or another and Izuku couldn't help but worry that he might not have enough time to catch up.

Of course, he wasn't planning on making just one costume.

Power Loader said that after school he would allow his students time to work in the development studio. If Izuku were to "accidentally" mess up one costume and have to print another…well who was he to waste good materials? He just so happened to know a certain pure hearted, selfless, noble, handsome, vigilante who could really use some new clothes.

That was the plan anyway. He just needed to wait until he had some privacy. Beside him, Moyashi was attempting to solder together two pieces of circuitry. Drawing a tiny line of molten copper, he appraised his work thoughtfully before setting the board down to cool. While he waited he turned to him.

'Hey Izuku, what're you making?' Moyashi asked.

'A grappling gun.' Izuku replied happily as he tightened a spool of metal cable. He didn't mind telling people if they just asked.

'Hm. Do you know how to use a grappling gun?'

'Not really. I figure I'll practice a bit before Friday.' Izuku said off-handily, 'What about you, what're you making?'

Moyashi hesitated for a moment before answering.

'I'm making some leg splints with springs built into them. They may not look like much now, but I'm planning on integrating them into my costume. They'll help me run faster. I hope.' he said as he returned to his soldering.

'Huh.' Izuku said thoughtfully. His gun seemed much less impressive in comparison.

_His work seems a lot more complicated than mine. Am I not being ambitious enough?_

Looking around the other workstations, it occurred to him that all of his classmates seemed to be making equipment that was intended to be closely integrated into their suit or worn. By far the most dominant design choice seemed to be a type of prosthetic or augmentation for their legs.

_I guess they want to close the physical gap between me and them with technology. But shouldn't they be trying to build something that they're bodies can't already do? I mean, they'll need to get in shape sooner or later anyway. Hm. I don't think that physical augmentation is the right call._

'Did you say something?'

Izuku looked over in alarm. Moyashi was staring at him.

'N-No. Its, uh, nothing. Its nothing.' Izuku said in embarrassment. He must have been muttering to himself again.

Moyashi shrugged and went back to his work. Blushing slightly, Izuku cast his eyes around the room. A flash of sparks caught his attention and he saw Mei hunched over a tangled mess of wires, busily modifying her rocket boots. In the brief flashes he could see from between her busy hands, Mei seemed to be overhauling her creation entirely. Despite himself, Izuku couldn’t help but feel impressed. Her rocket boots were the most complicated and intricate looking thing being made in the room by far.

_That seems like the way to go honestly. She's improving her mobility and giving herself extra options._

As though sensing she was being watched, Mei started to furtively glance around the room in suspicion. Izuku quickly averted his gaze back to his own work before she could notice him. He didn't want to inadvertently encourage her snoopy behaviour. Hefting his tools, he returned to his work.

The hours seemed to fly by and before they knew it, the bell chimed. Power Loader lifted his head up from his own workstation and addressed the class.

'That's it, school is over. If you want, you can spend some extra time in the workshop, but just remember that you have other homework to do. I'm expecting you to have your literature assignment done next Monday and you have to write your history chapter review next week as well.'

Izuku joined the rest of the class in their collective groan. It was only the second day of school and already it felt like he was doing more work than he had for his entire final year at Aldera. Izuku turned over his half-finished grappling gun in his hands and sighed.

_Maybe my plan of nightly Spider-Man outings was…overly optimistic._

Gritting his teeth, he redoubled his efforts. As he started to pick up the pace his spider sense alerted him that Mei was watching him again but he didn't care. He couldn't afford to obscure his work from Mei all the time. If she was going to be nosy then so be it, he had work to do.

A few hours later just as he was putting the finishing touches on his gun, Power Loader announced that he was closing up the shop for the evening. Izuku grimaced. He hadn't been able to even touch the fabricator yet and he _needed_ to make his costumes. While everyone was cleaning up their station and putting away their tools, he meekly trotted over.

'Um, hey Mr. Maijima can I have a copy of the software that the costume fabricator uses? I was hoping to design my costume today, but I ran out of time.'

Power Loader nodded.

'Sure. I can get you a copy. Just a second…'

Izuku waited patiently as Power Loader went over to his computer. Pulling out a USB key, Power Loader started to make him a copy. While they were waiting for the computer to finish, Power Loader turned to him.

'You've got some fast hands, Midoriya. I was watching you work today and you seem to have a good handle on things. I was reviewing your school records and-' he paused. What he could see of Power Loader's face tightened into a frown as he looked over Izuku's shoulder.

'Miss Hatsume, clean up your work space please.'

Izuku turned and saw Mei loitering around his workstation, conspicuously hovering over his design. At the sound of Power Loader's voice, she yelped, quickly scurrying back to her own cluttered workspace.

'There's one every year.' mumbled Power Loader in a barely audible voice before he turned back to Izuku.

'Anyway, I was reviewing your school records and it says you never received any special schooling for this class. Is that true?'

Izuku turned scarlet.

'W-W-Well, yeah, I mean, I-I went to the science fair and stuff so, I wasn't like, totally unprepared or anything…' Izuku said, avoiding his teachers gaze.

'There is no need to be so modest, Midoriya. A word of advice; a little bit of pride isn't a bad thing. Don't feel ashamed just because you're gifted. The last thing you want to do is stifle yourself because you're worried about what other people think.'

Izuku didn't know how to respond to that. Words of what sounded like encouragement from a teacher were new to him.

'R-Right…'

The computer chimed. Handing him the USB stick, Power Loader returned to supervising the class as they packed up. Izuku walked back to his desk and started to clean up his area. As he swept metal filings off his desk, Power Loader addressed the class again.

'I'll be in here at seven o'clock tomorrow morning if you want to get some extra work done. However, I remind you to budget your time carefully. You may want to simplify your designs if you find yourselves falling behind. Also, don't stay up too late either. We are going to have our first Foundational Heroics Studies lesson tomorrow and you'll want to be well rested.'

Izuku perked up.

_Foundational Heroics Studies?_

'Is All Might going to be teaching us?' Izuku blurted out.

The rest of the class paused expectantly while Power Loader appeared to consider the question. Dragging the moment out for as long as possible he finally responded.

'I believe he said he might drop in.' he said teasingly.

The class immediately erupted into excited chatter.

'All Might! The All Might! Teaching us? I don't believe it!' Moyashi said with unexpected cheer.

Izuku felt dizzy with excitement. He was actually going to receive training from the number one hero himself! He wasn't going to get a wink of sleep tonight that was for sure. After cleaning up his workspace, he rushed home to tell his mom the exciting news.

* * *

That evening while Izuku was freaking out with his mom about meeting All Might, a rail thin man in a blue track suit slowly shuffled into his small, downtown apartment building lobby. It had been a long day and he was exhausted. He wasn't the man he used to be that was for sure. Even something as simple as office work felt like running a marathon. As he crossed the threshold of the doorway, he suddenly felt a flair up of pain along his side. Wincing, he moved to the side of the lobby to take a moment to catch his breath. As he panted, an elderly couple walked out of the elevator.

'Out for an evening jog, Toshinori?' asked the elderly man as they passed by.

'Yes, sir! Got to stay fit.' Toshinori wheezed in between breaths, grinning to them while bracing himself against the wall.

'Well keep at it. Don't give up!' said the elderly man.

'No, sir!' Toshinori called out after the couple as they exited the building.

After a few moments he felt like he had recovered enough. Pushing himself off from the wall, he steadied himself before he began to climb up the old staircase. Finally, upon reaching the top floor he walked through the hallway and into his lonely suite. He had only just moved in and his loft was mostly empty. It suited him fine regardless. He didn't do much entertaining and chances are he would have to move again soon anyway.

Placing his keys on his small kitchen side table, he slowly made his way over to his large chair by the television. The chair was far too big for his current body, but he had grown fond of it over the years and it was one of the only pieces of furniture he bothered to hang on to. Flicking the television to the disaster alert channel, he made himself as comfortable as possible. While the reporter droned about raising crime rates across Japan, Toshinori slowly lost himself in his own thoughts.

He had met many promising students today. No doubt they would grow up to be fine heroes, but for some reason they just didn't seem like they were the right fit for All For One. Maybe he was being too picky, but his successor needed to be someone who understood fully the sacrifices required to be a true hero.

Toshinori suddenly broke into a fit of coughing as a trickle of blood and bile rose up in his throat. Grabbing a nearby tissue he spat out the disgusting mixture. After a dabbing around his mouth he shifted back in his chair. He didn't have much time left.

As he wiped around his mouth the reporter's excited speech caught his attention.

'We are reporting live from outside city hall where an armed man has taken hostages! Information is scarce at this time, but it appears as though he is demanding for accountability regarding the recent prostitution scandal last fall. The man has demanded that…'

Toshinori climbed out his chair. He still had some strength left and a hero's work was never done. Flexing his muscles, his frail emancipated body suddenly transformed into the towering form of All Might. Carefully opening his window, he leapt outside.

* * *

The following morning Izuku ran as fast as he dared through the deserted halls towards the development studio. It was almost seven o'clock. With any luck the room would be empty and he would have an opportunity to make his Spider-Man costume before anyone could catch him.

He still wasn't exactly sure how he would be able to make his costume undetected. The fabricator was against the wall in the middle of the room, right in the center of the action. Yesterday the room had been packed and while it was true that everyone was busy working on their own projects, surely his new costume would garner some interest. If anyone saw his work then that was it. Game over.

As he moved through the empty halls towards the development studio his ears picked up the faint sound of voices. As the words resolved themselves to tones he recognized he let out a low groan. Slowing his pace, he walked the rest of the way to the studio. To his chagrin, Mei had come in early too and from the sounds of things, she was in the middle of a rather animated, if one-sided, discussion with Power Loader. Izuku couldn't help but eavesdrop.

'So I was thinking maybe we could move up the testing schedule a few days!' Mei said enthusiastically, 'I mean, I can't speak for everyone else, but I'm certainly ready.'

'We will be following the syllabus.' Power Loader said in a tired voice.

'Oh, no doubt!' she said apprehensively, 'I was just thinking, er, maybe a pop quiz is in order! You could, * _ahem_ * grade us, and then we'll have a better understanding of our current position in the class!'

'Hm. I'll consider it.'

'Just something to think about.' Mei said, more confidently, oblivious to his obvious disinterest. 'Also, I was wondering if there were any extra credit activities I could do! I could build you a robot. Isn't that impressive? It could help you clean up the lab or the classroom or wherever. It could even-'

'A robot is unnecessary. Cleaning the room is what students are for.’

'M-Maybe not a robot then. How about-'

Izuku rolled his eyes. He got the sense that she was going to keep this up until she had definitively surpassed him in the class grades. What got to Izuku was she was probably going to beat him soon anyway. He doubted that he could build something as complicated as a robot. If she would just chill out for five minutes…

As he entered the development studio, Power Loader eagerly looked up from his computer. He had looked like he was about to crack.

'Good morning, Midoriya.' he said, interrupting Mei.

'Good morning, Mr. Maijima. Hi, Hatsume.'

Mei whirled around.

'Green Guy! What're you doing here?' she gasped.

Izuku gave her a confused look as he walked around her to the costume fabricator.

'I'm, uh, going to print out my costume. After, I was thinking I'd finish up my grappling gun before class.'

'AHA!' she cried dramatically, 'I _knew_ you were making a grappling gun!'

'Well…yeah. So?' Izuku said, scratching his head.

Mei turned away from him and back to Power Loader.

'Mr. Maijima, sir, don't you think that's a little bit _elementary_ for the top student? I mean, I don’t want to presume authority, but I think that grappling guns are more suited for an elementary school science fair then for a support hero course.'

Power Loader sighed.

'Hatsume, there is nothing wrong with simple. Simple but effective beats complicated and finicky every time.' he said patiently.

'Well, duh!' Mei snapped in her usual, insolent voice before catching herself, 'I-I-I mean, that's very true, I never thought of it that way before!'

Power Loader ignored her and addressed Izuku.

'One thing does concern me Midoriya. Are you really almost finished with your design?'

'Yes...'

'You work quickly, that's good.' Power Loader said approvingly and Mei shot him a venomous glare, 'But I've allotted class time for you all to work on your project. I don't mind you finishing early, though I would like you to always make use of your lab time. Were you going to be building anything else?'

'Yes, I was going to make some extra ammunition, maybe experiment a little with what my gun can launch.' suddenly a devious thought crossed Izuku's mind, 'Also, I'd like to see how my costume works out today during our foundational heroic studies lesson.'

He cleared his throat before continuing.

'I-I may have to make some ad-adjustments d-d-depending on how things turn out today. P-Probably need to rethink some things. I wouldn’t be surprised if I had to use the fabricator twice today.' he said nervously. Power Loader stared at him with an unreadable expression and he couldn't help but fidget.

'Very well…' Power Loader said eventually.

Breaking eye contact, Izuku hastily retrieved his USB drive and inserted it into the fabricator. Using the software Power Loader had given him, he had created two costume designs last night. One was modeled to mimic the appearance of the one his mother had made for him. The only difference was that it was much more durable and far heavier – a necessary set back. He was more than strong enough to bear the burden anyway. The second was his new and improved Spider-Man costume, straight from the illustrations in his notebook. As he configured the system, his mind went over his new plan.

_First, I'll print my normal costume and wear it to my class with All Might. After whatever exercise he has planned for us, I'll tell Power Loader that I need to make some costume adjustments. I'll say It's too restrictive or whatever, I'll make something up. Then instead of adjusting my existing costume, I'll print off my spider suit and, when no one is looking, stash it in my backpack and be off home free!_

Izuku paused. It was extremely risky. He probably wouldn't be alone in the room when he removed his costume from the machine and you weren't allowed to take your costume off school property. If he was caught stealing, he would be expelled for sure, but it was a risk he had to take.

_This is the price I pay for being a vigilante. It may seem reckless, but I need a new costume and I can't put off crime fighting anymore than I already have. Who knows how bad the slums have become since I was there last?_

His mind made up, Izuku uploaded the files for his regular costume and let the machine run. With a loud beep, the internal tailoring equipment activated and the room was filled with a low, rhythmic hum. Satisfied, he headed over to his workbench and started to check over his grappling hook. The weapon itself was complete, but he still needed to make the cable and grappling arm. Pulling out his tools, he went back to work.

* * *

After his extra morning work period in the development studio, Izuku attended his regular classes. He had forgotten just how monotonous the subjects were. Compared to his time in the workshop, normal school was excruciatingly boring. This was all made worse because after lunch they were having their first lesson with All Might. As they slowly went over their calculus lesson, Izuku couldn't help but glance over at the clock every few seconds and will time to move faster.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity the class was dismissed for lunch and Izuku joined his classmates at the support table in the cafeteria. Upon sitting, Izuku found that he was too excited to eat. He wasn't the only one, most of his classmates were also eagerly chatting about their upcoming lesson.

'I wish my strength enhancing harness was ready for today's exercise.' Kiska pouted, 'I don't want to seem weak in front of All Might.'

'I'm sure All Might is used to people looking weak in front of him.' Bukimi reasoned, 'It _is_ All Might after all. As long as we all put in a good performance, I'm sure he'll be understanding.'

Kiska snorted and Moyashi looked at Bukimi glumly.

'Easy for you to say. You finished your equipment already.' Moyashi said morosely.

Grinning, Bukimi turned toward Izuku, 'Hey Izuku, you finished your equipment too, right?'

Izuku nodded. 'Yep. I finished it this morning before class.'

Mei hmphed and Izuku arched an eyebrow at her. She had been giving him dirty looks all day.

'Jealous?' he teased. Her rocket boots may be impressive, but they were still in a hundred pieces on her workshop bench. Mei rolled her eyes contemptuously.

'Of what, your little toy rope gun? Please. When my rocket boots are finished Mr. Maijima will be so impressed-'

'Hey I was looking at your rocket boots yesterday.' Kiska interrupted, 'They're pretty cool, but are you sure they won't just blow up? The tolerances on your soles alone-'

'Ridiculous!' Mei said, waving her away. Kiska bite her tongue for a moment before continuing.

'I'm sure you know your stuff.' Kiska began delicately, 'But your-'

Mei spared her a pitying glance. 'Listen blondie, I've been building rocket boots for years now. My boots from the entrance exam didn't blow up, so why would these?'

Kiska's eyes narrowed. 'My name is Kiska. And these aren't the same boots as the ones you wore during the exam.'

'Like I said, I've been building rockets for years and they hardly ever explode.'

Izuku felt his spider sense twitch.

_Hardly ever explode?_

'Well I guess I'll just mind my own business then.' Kiska said, pulling out her smartphone.

'Good.' Mei said, doing the same.

The table fell to silence as the cafeteria around them chatted happily. Both of the girls were tapping away at their phones, perhaps a bit more forcefully than was strictly necessary. For a moment nobody said anything, until Mei's voice drifted across the table.

'Me and my boots kicked your ass in the practical that's for sure.' she mumbled.

Kiska put her phone down on the table and glared at the girl, 'Oh, really!? How would you know, you didn't even see me! I didn't see you! I certainly didn't see you flying around either!'

'I know I kicked your ass ‘cause I beat your time.' Mei said, glancing over at the girl from her phone, 'And who are you to lecture me anyway? I've seen that harness thingy you're building.'

'What about it?'

'Well, its kind of pointless isn't it? I mean, unless you plan on opening a moving company…'

As the two girls began sniping each other, Izuku decided to discreetly direct his attention elsewhere. Glancing around the hall he saw Bakugo sitting with the other class 1-A students. He wondered what sort of things they talked about? To his amusement, Bakugo seemed to be getting into a heated exchange of his own with a tall, muscular black-haired boy with glasses.

As he watched them, he spotted a pretty girl with brown hair and brown eyes. She was talking to another girl with a long green hair done up in an elaborate ponytail. For some reason she seemed familiar, but for the life of him he couldn't place her.

_This is going to drive me nuts!_ Thought Izuku as he studied the brunette. Suddenly he felt his spider sense tingle and he averted his gaze just as she looked his way. Turning his attention back to his own table, he saw that the argument between Mei and Kiska was unlikely to end anytime soon. Their bickering had escalated to the point where math had become involved.

With a sigh, Izuku pulled out his phone and checked the time. His eyes widened.

_It's almost time!_ He thought as a shiver of anticipation ran through his body. _I should grab my costume!_

Excusing himself to nobody in particular, Izuku stood and went for the exit while Mei and Kiska continued battling it out. As he walked, he sensed eyes on his back but he didn't bother turning around. It was probably just Mei being Mei.

* * *

'Bakugo! It is unbecoming of a hero to threaten your classmates! If this behaviour continues-'

'Fuck off four eyes.' Bakugo said absently. He had just noticed Izuku leaving the lunch hall.

The tall black-haired boy's scowl became even more pronounced as he regarded him. Taking a deep breath, he prepared to begin his chastisement anew, but before he could unleash his righteous fervour a girl from down the table spoke up.

'Give it a rest, Tenya. I don't care what he thinks anyway.'

Tenya turned towards the raven-haired girl who had spoken.

'You may not care, Jiro but that's not necessarily true of others! If Bakugo gets a reputation as a bully then Class 1-A will be undeserving of the title of heroes! We have to immediately discourage this shameful behaviour!'

Tenya turned back towards him, his jaw set.

'Now listen here Bakugo! I want you-'

As Tenya droned on Bakugo stopped paying any sort of attention. None of this was worth his time. To his annoyance he couldn't stop himself from thinking about that irritating little worm Deku. His very presence at UA was irksome. Like a mosquito that wouldn't stop bothering you while you tried to sleep. Why did Deku have to follow him?

When he had first learned that Deku was planning on going to UA he had begrudgingly conceded to himself that Deku would pass the written exam. Idiot savant that he was, him qualifying academically was a given, but he had never expected him to beat the practical exam too! He knew that the Support Department was full of pussies but still, he had no quirk! How could they let a neurotic dork like Deku in?

To make matters worse, apparently the sneaky little bastard had actually managed to score top marks in his class. What kind of exam could it have possibly been? And for that matter, how pathetic was class 1-H if Deku of all people could get the highest score? He had to have cheated somehow. That was the only explanation.

As Tenya continued to bellow in his ear, Bakugo watched Deku scamper off and out the cafeteria. How did he do it?

* * *

Standing in the empty development studio, Izuku looked over his freshly made costume with satisfaction. It was the same basic green and white bodysuit design as the one his mother had made him, though it was now far more durable. The fabric had been replaced with a Kevlar weave, and the chest and back were interlined with removable steel plating.

Besides adding armour, he also improved the functionality by adding a black utility belt for his future gadgets – including a handy holster for his multipurpose grappling gun – as well as a hardened helmet built into a half cowl in addition to heavy steel lined boots and gloves. With a weight of just over thirty-five kilograms, the suit would have been prohibitively heavy for a regular person, but that wasn't an issue for him. As long as he didn't let anybody handle his stuff, nobody would know just how much weight he was carrying.

_I'm glad I could maintain the original flair that Mom made. I'm sure she'll get a kick out of seeing me in it. Assuming I don't get kicked out of school first that it…_

He felt a thrill of nerves run up his spine. He couldn't believe that he was actually going to steal materials from school. And from UA no less.

Exhaling, he draped his costume over his arm and started to walk to the exit. Seeing as how there was still some time before lunch ended, he figured that he might as well drop off his costume at his locker in the changeroom.

_As long as I don't do anything to arouse suspicion, I should be okay. I hope._

As he made his way toward the changing rooms, a blaring alarm suddenly sounded almost making him jump out of his skin. Whipping his head around in shock, he faltered midstep.

'What the-'

_This couldn't be my doing, could it? I didn't even do anything yet!_

He hesitated. Should he leave the building? His spider senses weren’t going off. Maybe it was just a fire drill? As he stood in indecision, the alarms abruptly ceased and the halls fell silent once more.

_What was that about?_

Now alert, he resumed walking to his locker at a deliberate pace. Coming upon an intersection in the hall, he heard the thundering footsteps from a group of people barreling their way closer from around the corner. Judging by the sound, they were sprinting in full tilt.

His spider-sense thrummed and he began backing away. Before he could retreat more than a few steps however, a group of teachers, including Power Loader, went rushing through the intersection in front of him. For a split second he felt his spider-sense flare up as they all looked at him, but it only lasted a moment. Without sparing him a second glance they continued on at their breakneck speed and disappeared from view around the opposite corner.

For a moment he was tempted to follow them, but he quickly reconsidered. Whatever was happening, his spider-senses were telling him he wasn’t in danger. It could be nothing. Continuing on, he arrived at the empty changeroom and checked the time. Lunch was due to end in less than five minutes.

_Might as well change, I guess._

Getting into costume, he was soon joined by the rest of his class who were all excitedly talking amongst themselves. Apparently, the alarm had caused quite the ruckus in the cafeteria, but Izuku was too nervous about his upcoming lesson to care.

_All Might! I'm finally going to meet All Might!_ Izuku thought as he strode out with his classmates towards the hero training courses. _God, I hope I don't embarrass myself._

* * *

In a blur of motion All Might came to sudden stop, appearing as if from nowhere next to his collogues who had all gathered outside the school gates. The blue painted steel shutters had activated, sealing the school grounds from the street. From over the fence he could hear the shouts of the press who were loudly wondering what was going on. All Might was wondering that very same thing himself.

'What's the situation?' All Might asked to the crowd of teachers who were just now reacting to his sudden appearance.

'Ah!' cried Midnight, jumping back slightly, 'Where'd you come from? No, don't tell me. There's been a break in.'

'A break in? Do we know who and why?'

'Not yet no. Some press snuck in and tripped the alarms but they may have just taken advantage of the situation. Look.'

All Might followed Midnight's finger. She was pointing at a pile of what appeared to be grey sand that had gathered around the base of the blue emergency lock down gate. Crouched around the pile were several staff members who were murmuring to one another and shaking their heads. All Might blinked in confusion.

'Is that the regular gate? Was it disintegrated or something?'

'Or something.' Midnight said with a hopeless shrug, 'It must have been destroyed by the intruder. We're still gathering information. If you-'

'I'll conduct a quick patrol of the grounds!' All Might said, pounding his palm with his fist, 'You can count on me!'

At that he took off, away from the gates towards the school buildings leaving behind a stunned crowd of his fellow teachers behind.

'Wait! Don't you have a class to teach?' Midnight shouted after him, but it was too late. He had already disappeared off into the distance. With a sigh, she rejoined the rest of the staff. They would have to debrief him later.

* * *

Izuku and his classmates were huddled together in the simulated urban environment of the foundational hero studies training course, excitedly waiting for the appearance of All Might. Class had officially begun five minutes ago and the anticipation was palpable.

'I bet you he'll drop down from the sky!' Kiska said excitedly, scanning the clouds above, 'He loves doing that!'

'No, he's definitely going to come bursting out of one of these buildings!' Bukimi said, rapidly shifting his eyes from wall to wall.

Izuku, who was standing at the rear of the group, chuckled at their foolishness. Jumping down from the sky? Honestly! Any true All Might fan would know that he was going to suddenly appear behind them so he could startle everyone with his suddenness! With that in mind, he had positioned himself at the rear of the group with his back to the empty street behind them. When All Might made his grand entrance, he’d be right at the front of the action!

Suddenly there was a loud creaking noise and everyone turned. One of the rear doors had opened and an overly muscular arm and leg were trying to squeeze through the too small doorway. After a second of struggling, the leg managed to step through followed by the rest of the massive body. The class collectively held their breath as All Might himself towered before them. Patting some dust off his iconic red, blue, and white costume, he gave them his famous smile.

'I am here, late to class because, er, I got lost!'

There was a moments silence before the class erupted into cheers. Izuku joined his classmates in swarming around All Might.

'All Might!' Izuku shouted as everyone crowded around him, 'All Might, I'm your biggest fan! Minus your wakey-wakey clock, I own everything you've ever released!'

His shouts were in vain however as every one else was loudly clamouring for All Might's attention. All Might surveyed the students before bursting into his trademark laughter.

'All right everyone, I know you're all excited to meet me, but we have more important things to do!' All Might said, stepping back slightly as the teens surged.

'All Might! Why are you retiring? You're still in your prime!' Izuku shouted, roughly pushing himself past his fellows to the front. All Might grinned at him.

'I've not retired completely my boy!'

Izuku almost fainted. _He called me "my boy"! He actually said it!_

Momentarily stunned, Izuku was yanked back into the fray while All Might continued:

'I decided to partially hang up my proverbial cape to come to UA to teach you all because I believe that nothing is more important than forging the next generation of heroes to be as strong as possible. One day you will be called to shoulder the burdens of society and lead the people forward into a new era of peace!'

The class burst into applause as All Might continued to grin at them all.

'Y-Yes. Thank you. Anyway, let's stop wasting time and get to your lesson!'

All Might paused briefly to clear his throat as the students quieted themselves.

'As support heroes you'll often be the first ones at the scene in the event of an emergency. You will likely encounter those who are heavily injured and require immediate extraction to receive medical aid! To simulate this experience, I have devised a simple exercise. Fifteen of you will scatter in that building-' All Might pointed towards a large, dull grey concrete high rise '-and pretend to be injured. Once you are all in position four of you will play the part of hero's and try to locate and extract the injured outside.'

'But, All Might, sir, there's twenty of us. What is the extra person going to be doing?' piped up Mei.

All Might's grin curled mischievously.

'The extra person will also be in the building, but they will only be pretending to be injured! In reality they will be a villain hiding amongst the injured civilians, waiting for their opportunity to strike, so watch out!'

The class started murmuring excitedly to one another.

'Four versus one seems pretty one sided.' Moyashi pointed out.

'It is.' conceded All Might, 'But there are many people in the building to rescue and you will only have five minutes to do it. Will you split up to cover more ground and potentially save more lives? Or do you think it best to move as a group and be as safe as possible? I'll leave that up to you.'

'Can the injured help the heroes?' Mei asked.

'No, and they can't move themselves either!'

Izuku grinned excitedly. The exercise sounded like a lot of fun and thanks to his superhuman senses he had an ace in the hole if it came to picking out the villain. Maybe he could even impress All Might with his cunning, so long as he didn't overdo it.

'All right, let's get started! I'll pick out the heroes first. Let me see…'

* * *

Izuku lay splayed out on the hard, concrete floor, moaning loudly. Every once in a while, he would stop to press his ear to the floor to try and hear the hero's. There was no sign of them yet, but he figured that sooner or later they were bound to stumble across him. As he wallowed on the dusty floor, he couldn't help but giggle slightly at the absurdity of his situation.

_This is great! I hope all of All Might's lessons are like this. It sure beats being in a classroom that's for sure._

From the floor beneath him he picked up the sound of scuffling footsteps and a body being dragged across the floor. Evidently one of the other civilians was being rescued. They were likely to come across him next.

_I wonder how Hiretsuna is doing?_ Thought Izuku while he waited.

Hiretsuna was the name of the student playing the villain for this round. Her quirk let her create a shockwave by clapping her hands together. It was an extremely powerful, if indiscriminate ability that was guaranteed to cause the hero's trouble. He didn't know where she was, but he didn't want his sensitive ears to be any where near her when she sprung her ambush.

_I wonder if they split up or not?_

Suddenly he heard footsteps approaching his position. Trying to adopt a straight face, he went limp.

A lone student appeared in the doorway. It was Mei.

'Ahh, the pain!' Izuku rasped, stifling his giggles with some rough coughing, 'I'm a goner!'

Mei looked down at him critically. 'This had better not be a trap.' she warned, crossing her arms.

'T-Trap? I am but a humble farmer. I came into town today to-'

Before Izuku could deliver his time-wasting backstory, Mei sharply cut him off. 'Yeah, yeah, yeah. Calm down, I'm coming.'

Izuku coughed, 'Will I…live to see my children's faces again?' he gasped, wincing.

'Shut up. Where are you "injured"?'

Izuku looked up at her. 'Both my legs are broken. You'll have to carry me…'

'Ugh!' Mei said, scowling. Crouching down, she grabbed his left arm and pushed her shoulder into his collarbone. With a grunt she stood, swinging him up and over her shoulders.

'Hey, not bad!' Izuku said, impressed at the ease with which she had lifted him. She must have done some first aid training.

'Quiet!' Mei spat as she trundled out the room, 'Jeez, how much do you weigh, guy?'

'Uh, must be my gear. And my name is "Izuku".' he said as she plodded towards the stairwell.

'Well _Izuku_ you could stand to lose a couple dozen pounds.' she said through gritted teeth.

Coming to the head of the stairwell a voice shouted up at them.

'Mei is that you?'

'Yeah. I got one.' Mei shouted back.

'Okay so do I. I'll wait for you.'

Mei mumbled indistinctly in response as she carefully started to descend down the stairs.

'Don't wiggle so much!' she said in a dangerous tone as she took her first steps.

'Sorry, but…the pain!' Izuku gasped flopping over, causing her to grab the railing in alarm.

'You're breaking my fall if I lose my balance, tubby!' Mei snarled.

Resuming her descent, she took the steps one at a time. Despite his precarious position, Izuku wasn't worried. He had fallen from far higher without injury. Instead he just found himself enjoying the ride.

At last she made it to the bottom and Izuku saw Bukimi with a seemingly unconscious silver haired girl in his arms. It was Hiretsuna.

_Uh, oh._

'Okay Mei, lets go. We have less than three minutes left.' Bukimi said as he started to walk over to the exit.

'Wait. Wanna trade? This guy here-'

'Izuku.'

'Whatever. Izuku here weighs a tonne. Let's swap, we'll go faster.'

'Um…' Bukimi hesitated, 'No. Can't you manage? I don't want to lose marks because we made the injuries worse or something. Let's just get out of here.' he said as he turned around.

Mei hmphed as she reluctantly followed him out of the room. From beyond Bukimi's folded, leathery wings, Izuku saw Hiretsuna open one of her eyes. She looked back over at Mei then up to him, a devious smile teasing her lips.

Izuku didn't know how powerful Hiretsuna's shockwaves were, but he would be at ground zero when she attacked. He pre-emptively groaned.

'Quit your belly aching, Izuku. If you want, I can always drag you.' Mei snapped as she followed Bukimi and Hiretsuna, oblivious to the oncoming danger. Izuku hesitated.

_It's against the spirit of the exercise to warn the heroes who the villain is. I guess it's just their unlucky day. Sorry Bukimi._

Izuku let his body go fully limp. He was wearing armour but he didn't want to take any chances for when the blast hit. Mei stumbled backward slightly as he slackened. Growling in frustration, she twisted her head around to glare at him.

'Izuku quit being such a dick! Why'd you go all limp? I-'

Her eyes went wide as she noticed his expression. Before she could cry out the hallway exploded. With a thunderous boom, Izuku and Mei were sent hurtling backward. Even through all his armour Izuku felt the concussive blast rattle his bones. Hiretsuna's attack wasn't nearly as powerful as Shocker's had been, but he still felt the wind get knocked out of him all the same. As he careened through the air, he saw Bukimi rocket by underneath him.

_At least I'm wearing armour. I hope Hiretsuna didn't hurt them too bad._

With a crash Izuku hit the floor. As soon as he came to a rest he looked up and over at Mei and Bukimi. They were collapsed in a heap on top of each other at the end of the hall, softly groaning in pain.

'Yo, Midoriya! Are you okay?'

Izuku turned. Hiretsuna was picking herself up off the floor.

'Yeah, I'm fine. You sure flattened Bukimi and Mei, Hiretsuna. Maybe you should have held back?' Mei and Bukimi were moving, but they looked to be in a bad way.

'Real villains won't hold back. I-I'm sure they'll be fine. Anyway, I need to get after the other rescuers. See ya.'

At that Hiretsuna ran off down the hallway in search of the other two hero's. Izuku watched her disappear before he laid back down on the floor.

_I wonder if the other two rescuers will be able to stop her?_ He wondered. He didn't have to wait long for his answer. A half-minute later he heard another massive boom which seemed to shake the building to its foundations. As a fine shower of concrete dust fell from the ceiling, he heard All Might's voice echo over to him through the PA system.

'Excellent work everyone, excellent work! All of you return to the starting area, and we'll try again with different roles! Hop to it now.'

Izuku jumped to his feet and rushed over to Mei and Bukimi.

'Are you guys alright?'

Kneeling down, he snapped his fingers and waved his hands in their faces but the only response he got was their continued moaning. Thankfully they didn't appear to be seriously injured, only shell shocked. Slinging the semi-conscious teens over his shoulders, he started to jog back to the entrance. As he neared the exit he felt Mei stir.

'D-Don't bounce me so much. I'm going to be sick!' she moaned. Izuku carefully slowed his pace. He didn't want to end up wearing her lunch.


	14. Robin Hood

Amidst his exhausted and battered peers, Izuku stood at ease at the front of the class while All Might reviewed the class's performance for the day. Today had been the best day of school ever. Not only did he get to meet and even talk with All Might, but he’d aced the exercise too. The only thing preventing this from being a perfect day was the nagging fear he felt in the back of his mind concerning his scheme to steal an extra costume later. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more uncertain he became. Here he was practically standing in All Might’s shadow, and he was planning a heist! When All Might lifted his head from his clipboard and smiled at the class he shivered. It wasn’t just fear he felt, but an odd sense of excitement. For the past few months he’d been so locked up in being meek little Deku that he had forgotten the thrill of his more renegade alter-ego.

'Well everyone, you all put forth a strong effort for your first lesson. Well done!' All Might boomed. The class smiled weakly at his praise before he continued.

'Hiretsuna, Kiska, Midoriya, and Saigo, you managed to defeat the villain and rescue all the injured civilians, congratulations!'

Izuku managed to get over himself enough to share a grin with his teammates. They were the only group that managed to complete the exercise successfully. Around them, some of their fellow classmates exchanged sour looks. There had been a few incidents of miscommunication and friendly fire that had resulted in some unfortunate injuries.

'Of course, there is plenty of room for improvement, but don't worry! I'll whip you all into shape…with homework!' All Might said, grinning broadly. Izuku's classmates grumbled. Between their fresh injuries and their already existing mountain of homework, the glitz of being a superhero was starting to fade.

'Now I want you all to review the footage of your rescue attempt and come up with a personal strategy to improve your performance. There are proper protocols for these situations - which I want you to include in your report - but I am more interested in how you can integrate your unique capabilities into the rescue scenario!'

'When is this due?' asked a weak voice in the back.

'Tomorrow!' All Might said happily and the class groaned again.

* * *

As the rest of the day progressed Izuku’s nerves got worse and worse. His lessons practically flew by and with each minute the after-school workshop period drew closer. His earlier feeling of adventure faded and was replaced with an increasing sense of impending doom. What was he thinking stealing from UA of all places? Not only was he surrounded by famous pro heroes, but Power Loader would be in the room with him when he did it!

His plan was stupid! Suicidally stupid! And yet, what other choice was there? Every day that Spider-Man was off the streets Shocker got stronger and the slums became worse. Like it or not, he had a made a commitment and risk or no he wasn’t about to shirk his responsibility because he had butterflies in his stomach.

However, once his workshop period arrived and the time to act drew near, his will began to falter. His butterflies had progressed to the point where he was now sweating - much to his dismay. He hadn’t even done anything yet and he already looked guilty as sin!

Lips locked tight, his eyes went from the clock, to the fabricator, to Power Loader, then back to the clock. Should he wait for a better time? Maybe he was being too reckless. Then again, he had given Power Loader a perfectly valid excuse earlier. What should he do?

_I told Power Loader I might be making some early adjustments and everyone is so busy that they’ll never notice. Argh, but what if I get caught?! Game over! Fuck! Each second I waste is another second that-_

‘Hey Izuku, are you talking to me or are you talking to yourself?’ Moyashi asked from beside him.

‘W-What?!' Izuku gasped, ‘I didn’t say anything.’

‘Oh? Alright, whatever.’

Moyashi turned back to his work and Izuku wiped his forehead. His hand came back wet with sweat.

_This is ridiculous. If I can’t get one simple thing like this done, then I might as well throw in the towel now._

If he wanted to make his Spider-Man costume it was either now or never. The costume fabricator was free and all his classmates were hurrying to finish their design. Nobody would notice if he acted quickly enough.

He hoped.

Stiff-legged, he rose from his station and went over to the front of the development studio to Power Loader's desk. Power Loader was leaned over, examining a blueprint that one of Izuku’s peers had submitted. Clearing the lump in his throat, Izuku spoke as confidently as he could.

'M-M-Mister Maijima, sir I-I was wondering if I could use the f-f-fabricator real quick. I need to make those costume adjustments…?'

Power Loader didn't look up as he continued to review the schematic.

'Hm. Okay. How much do you need to remake?'

'N-N-Not much.' Izuku said vaguely, 'Just some…odds and ends.'

'Very well. Just make sure you dispose of what you replace properly. We don't want any gear going missing and ending up in the wrong hands.'

'Okay!' squeaked Izuku, his voice breaking.

Turning around he walked as nonchalantly as he could over to the fabricator. He would have felt less nervous about bursting into a room filled with Trigger crazed psychos then he did now. Quickly pulling out his USB drive, he uploaded his spider suit design and set the machine to run. It would finish just after class. Hopefully the room would have thinned out some by then.

Going back to his desk, he sat back down and scanned the room. Nobody seemed to have spared him a second glance.

_Maybe I was worried for nothing._ He thought. Letting out a sigh of relief he grabbed his tools and started working on more ammunition for his grappling gun.

Hours passed and everything was going smoothly until he heard a frustrated growl. Lifting his head, he saw Mei tapping away at the costume fabricator console. With a yelp, he leapt over his desk and rushed over to her.

'Mei! What're you doing?' he cried as Mei kept messing with the controls.

She looked over at him, a determined glint in her eye.

'You're hogging the fabricator. I need to make some adjustments of my own.'

'Well…I was here first!' Izuku said trying to move around to the controls but she blocked him, hands raised out at her sides.

'Mr. Maijima, Izuku won't share.' Mei called out.

With a sigh, Power Loader lifted his head from his work.

'Midoriya, how long do you have left on your costume?'

Izuku felt his pulse quicken as he read the countdown being displayed by the fabricator monitor. His spider suit was almost complete, but the final stages were crucial to the suit’s integrity. If he pulled it out now, he’d have done all of this for nothing.

'Just a few minutes yet.' he said, fearing the response.

'Wait, It's still running?' Power Loader frowned, 'Didn't you start the machine over three hours ago?' Izuku gulped. 'I thought you only had to make a few adjustments. Are you reprinting your whole costume?'

Izuku noticed Mei smile devilishly and he felt a cold ball of ice drop into his stomach.

'W-Well you see, the, uh, the thing is that, um, I-I need to-to make the adjustments that, uh, All Might suggested. I-I want to make sure it's done right, so-'

'Hey!' Mei interrupted, 'All Might didn't say anything about our costumes! I think Izuku's lying!'

Izuku felt his breath get stuck in his throat. Power Loader was regarding him silently, patiently waiting for his response as few of the members of his class looked up at them curiously,

'What? That-that's crazy!' Izuku sputtered, 'I'm making my costume lighter! Everyone was saying it's too heavy, even you Mei! I just need to trim some material off, that's all.'

'But you said _All Might_ told you to make it lighter, not me or anyone else. _All Might_. Isn't that what you said, Izuku?' Mei said, a tauntingly innocent expression on her face. Despite himself, Izuku felt a flush creep up on his cheeks.

'I meant that I got feedback during All Might's class. Didn't I say that?' he said in a low tone. Mei was making this much more difficult then she had any right to.

'Nope.' she said, carelessly tossing a braided lock of pink hair over her shoulder. 'You said All Might gave you feedback.' Izuku glared at the girl. 'It shouldn't take a few hours to make a costume lighter either. What're you making, I wonder, that you'd lie-'

'All right, all right, relax you two.'

Izuku and Mei turned. Power Loader had stood up from his desk.

'Hatsume there is no need to mince words. Please return to your project and wait until Izuku is finished; it’s only a few minutes.' With a humph she haughtily marched past Izuku back to her work space while Power Loader continued, 'Midoriya, once your new costume is complete please bring it up to me. I'll look it over for you.'

Izuku felt his face go pale.

'Okay.' he said hoarsely.

* * *

Izuku felt like a nervous wreck. Now his spider-sense was sending him warning signals too. It was only a matter of time before the fabricator finished and he would have no chance to sneak his spider suit out now.

It wouldn't take much brain power for even a regular person to look at the costume and see that it was Spider-Man-esque. It had a giant spider on the back of it for Christ's sake. But his teacher was not a regular person. Power Loader was a support hero and probably loved costumes as much as he did. He had no doubt that Power Loader would recognize the colours and themes and put two and two together in a heart beat.

_What I need is a distraction. As soon as the machine is finished, I need everyone to be looking elsewhere so I can stash my costume! Then I'll just need to hope and pray that Power Loader forgets about me. Maybe I can get my old costume from the lockers before he notices?_

Izuku quickly scanned the room. There were potential distractions all over the place. Power tools, engines, heavy components, batteries, he had no shortage of options but whatever he chose would have to cause a big enough scene to distract both the teacher AND Mei.

Turning his attention to Mei, he saw her busying around her rocket boots. She was currently fussing over a complex series of tubes and electrical readouts hooked up to her invention. Next to her device, he spotted a clear container of what appeared to be small amounts of rocket fuel being drip fed into one of the engines. Occasionally they would fire up and Mei would eagerly write down some measurements from the various sensors she had linked together. It all looked very complicated. And dangerous.

He couldn't help but notice that in the fume hood beside her workstation there was an intricate network of tubes all feeding into a central beaker. It seemed as though she was sequestering nitic acid from its organic solvent as a component in her rocket fuel mixture. A tricky operation to be sure. Just a few extra milliliters of solvent or acid could catalyze a reaction that would release a highly explosive gas.

_In the quantities she's working with an explosion wouldn't be too big. That would certainly qualify as a distraction. The blast should be contained in the fume hood. But even so I don't want to risk injuring Mei. Maybe I could lure her away?_

He glanced over at the fabricator and felt a tiny thrill of exhilaration. Once the machine was finished and she went over to investigate there was going to be a little accident…

Izuku grabbed a small, metal bolt from his tool drawer. Twirling it between his fingers he shifted his eyes between Mei and the fabricator. As soon as she was clear of her workstation, he would make his move.

He didn't have to wait long. A few minutes later the fabricator let out a loud, long beep. His spider suit was finished. At the sound, Mei immediately dropped her clipboard to her desk and sprang out of her chair.

'Alright Izuku! Let's go, chop-chop!' she said with false friendliness.

Izuku watched as she went across the room.

'Coming…' he said softly.

Stretching himself out languorously, Izuku reached for the ceiling and craned his neck. Letting out an exaggerated sigh of satisfaction, he dropped his hands back down to his sides and pushed himself off from his work space counter.

Unbeknownst to everyone else, in that split instant he had flicked his fingers and with incredible speed launched the metal nut he had been holding towards the glass beaker of nitric acid in Mei's fume hood. With a sharp ping, it impacted the hardened safety glass sending a rapidly expanding web of fractures across its surface. Slowly, the fluid within began to boil.

Izuku dragged his feet as he walked forward towards Mei, strategically placing himself between the nearest students and the glass beaker. He didn't have to wait long before his spider sense flared. Acting immediately, he dove forward and pinned his two nearest classmates to the ground, shielding them with his body just as the beaker exploded.

A massive blast followed by shouts of alarm filled the room. Lifting his head from the backs of his two shocked classmates, Izuku was amazed to see that his distraction was even more sensational than he had planned. Though the blast had been contained by the fume hood's safety glass, it seemed as though the explosion had disconnected whatever restraining harness Mei had used to secure her boots to the table and they were now flying around the studio!

The room filled with shouts and screams as everyone dove for cover from the pair of misfiring metal shoes whirling overhead. Mei, uncaring for her own safety, tried to leap and grab the speeding footwear but they were too fast and erratic. Izuku watched as one of the boots devastated the neatly arranged shelves of spare parts before finding the development studio exit and flying out into the hallway. The second boot soon followed, dragging with it the remains of Mei's electrical apparatus like a ghost rattling chains.

As Mei frantically gave chase, Power Loader commanded the class to stay put before he too went racing out after Mei. From the halls outside, it sounded as though Mei’s shoes were smashing into everything they could. As they went further and further away, the banging sounds slowly became more distant until eventually everything was still. Nobody moved in the room for a few seconds as they processed what had just happened.

_Wow! Talk about dramatic! Okay, now I just need to-_

Izuku’s thoughts were interrupted as he felt squirming beneath him.

'Uh, hey? Midoriya?' Hiretsuna said in a muffled voice, her face was pressed against the floor, 'Uh, I think it's safe now. If you don't mind…?'

'Oh! Right.'

Izuku quickly stood up before helping his two classmates up on their feet.

'I knew Mei's design was fucked.' Kiska growled as she dusted herself off.

'I don't think it was her design. It looks like her hillbilly fuel extraction setup blew up.' Hiretsuna said and Kiska's face darkened. Her nostrils flared as she let out a long, hissing breath.

'I'm going to kill her' she said before turning to him, 'That was some fast thinking Izuku. Thanks.'

'Don't mention it.' Izuku replied and he stepped away from the two girls. Now was the time to make his move.

As his classmates cautiously approached the smoldering remains of Mei's workstation, Izuku quietly backed over to the fabricator. Opening the delivery tray, he removed its contents and, after a hasty glance around the room, tucked the costume into his backpack. Nobody noticed his theft and upon returning to his desk, he calmly waited for Mei and Power Loader to return.

And return they did. Mei strode ahead of an exhausted looking Power Loader back into the room, an errant boot in each hand and a strained smile on her face.

'Got 'em!' she said raising the boots in triumph.

The class wasn't amused and they quickly swarmed around her. To her credit, she hardly blinked under their scolding.

'Are you trying to kill us?' Saigo cried.

'I was just working; it was an accident.'

'You shouldn't have been rushing, Hatsume! If you'd been standing by your workstation when it blew up you could've died.' interjected Bukimi.

'Or, maybe I could have stopped it.'

'I told you this would happen!' shouted Kiska.

'To be fair, my boots didn't blow up. It was the fuel. The boots worked great!'

As much as Izuku liked seeing Mei squirm, he did feel a slight pinch of guilt for blowing up her work. Not enough to admit he was responsible of course, but enough that he didn't join the class in criticizing her.

In the midst of all the drama and cleaning, both her and Power Loader seemed to have forgotten all about him and his costume and when class ended, he was able to quietly slip away with his classmates. 

* * *

That evening after dinner, Izuku went into his room and rushed through as much homework as he could before his night out. He didn't finish all his assignments, but they could wait. Spider-Man had been missing for too long. Pulling out his new suit from his backpack he draped it over his bed. He had been in such a hurry to get home that he never got an opportunity to inspect it.

Compared to his bulky armoured school costume, the spider suit hardly looked like adequate protection for hero work in the roughest neighbourhood in town, but he knew better. The suit was thin and light, but it was composed of an extremely dense and tightly woven Kevlar fabric. Abnormally elastic, it would be difficult for someone without superhuman strength to move in, but it provided at least some protection. It wouldn't stop a bullet, but it was far superior to the easily scratched and torn spandex he had been wearing previously. Honestly the prospect of not ever having a split crotch again alone justified all the trouble he went through to get his new spider suit.

Changing out of his pajamas, Izuku put on his costume. Pulling the mask over his face, he turned and eagerly examined his reflection in the mirror. To his delight he looked exactly like the drawing in his notebook. The red and blue colour scheme really popped while his white eye patches really helped bring the whole suit together. Turning, he was happy to see that the large red spider on his back was clearly recognizable. He had been worried that it would look warped on an actual person, but on him it looked great.

Unfortunately, the form fitting costume was still a little too revealing for his taste, but at least now he looked like a professional and not some amateur weirdo.

_It's still not complete. I'll need to build my web-shooters soon and augment my mask with some additional features, but it'll do for now._

Sliding open his bedroom window, Izuku grinned beneath his mask. Despite all the suffering and the horrors he had witnessed in his time patrolling, he had missed this. Jumping, he silently disappeared out and into the night.

* * *

'Get that twiggy armed bastard!'

The high collared, men surged forward, their dress shirt sleeves rolled up and their green visored caps pushed high.

'Twiggy armed?' Izuku scoffed as he dodged a slot machine that had been launched at his head, 'You nerds should talk. Is this where the bad boys of the math club end up?'

Running up wall to escape the army of clerks, he passed over a line of dead eyed gamblers who were too engrossed in their pachinko machines to spare him more than a quarter of their attention.

Jumping off from the wall, he landed behind the army of bookies and card dealers. Before they could react, Izuku sprang into action. With a quartet of punches, he sent four of them flying into their white shirted comrades, bowling the lot of them over.

'Strike!' Izuku cheered.

His spider sense flared. Ducking instantly, a roulette table went skipping over him, barely missing his head.

The table smashed against the wall, sending wooden splinters flying across the room. Apparently, this was enough to rouse a few of the patrons of Big Spin's Casino from their semi-comatose state and they began to nervously shuffle off towards the exit.

Seeing the exodus of the damned, the casino owner, Big Spin himself, suddenly ceased his ranged attack.

'Wait!' Big Spin shouted, lowering the blackjack table he had picked up, 'All tables are still open folks! The staff apologises for the disruption, complimentary drinks on the house!' The crowd looked at each other uncertainly. Evidently a free rum and coke wasn't worth getting brained by a baccarat table. They began to shuffle off again. Before they could take more than a few steps however, Big Spin snapped his fingers.

'I know, a new event, special for this evening only! House offers ten to one odds that I squish the Spider-Man flat, right here and now.'

The gamblers suddenly perked up and a few began rubbing their hands together eagerly. A few checked their purses and wallets while others quickly counted their chips.

'Wait, are you serious?' Izuku said, lowering his fists slightly.

Evidently though this wasn't such an absurd prospect to the patrons. Looking between the two, the spectators considered their options. Big Spin was a well-known brute to the people in the underground betting scene. A veritable man mountain, he had been a prize fighter himself in the illegal pit fighting rings before becoming an enforcer in the criminal underworld. He had even trounced a few pro heroes back in his day. That was a few years ago true, but he was still an impressive specimen. In comparison Spider-Man looked like a bug next to the behemoth. True he seemed to be a spry little bastard, but he was fighting someone who was maybe five or six times his weight. Could his punches even hurt Big Spin?

Soon there were several hollered bets to the bookies. To Izuku's chagrin, he didn't seem to be very popular. The cages were inundated with wagers against him. Amidst their frenzied shouts he heard a familiar voice call out:

'100,000 all on Spidey, baby!'

Looking over he saw a small, thin man in a cheap suit waving his cash clenched fist at the cashier behind the counter.

_Weasel?_

Izuku was shocked he remembered the man. It had been almost a year since he had saved him. It was nice to see him still kicking.

'Alright Spider-Man. You ready?' growled Big Spin, rolling up the sleeves on his massive forearms.

'Er, not yet!'

Big Spin watched on in confusion as Izuku quickly walked away. Approaching the cages, he flagged one of the cashier ladies behind the counter.

'500-er no wait.' Izuku fumbled around his pocket for his vending machine money. 'Make that, uh, 657 on me to win.'

The woman took his money before printing him out a ticket.

'Very well. Good luck, sir.' she said with a bemused expression.

'Thanks!'

Taking his ticket and tucking it in his pocket, he rejoined Big Spin in the centre of the room. As he neared the giant, he saw that the excitedly buzzing patrons quickly closed ranks behind him to form a large ring around the pair. They were all shouting and waving their tickets madly, free drinks raised high. The mountain of muscles that was Big Spin cracked his knuckles menacingly as Izuku drew near.

'You sure screwed up coming here looking for trouble, Spidey. Don't you know that the-'

'Don't I know that the house always wins? Yeah, Yeah, I saw that coming from a mile away large load. Why don't we have ourselves a little private wager?'

'What do have in mind?' Big Spin rumbled as he unbuttoned his smoking jacket.

'If I win you tell me all about your benefactor, Shocker.'

'Hah! Fine. I'll give you a freebie seeing as how after this you'll be collecting flies in the dumpster.'

'Deal!' Izuku said raising his fists. Big Spin did the same and the two fighters began to circle around each other. While Izuku danced lightly around his opponent, Big Spin lumbered forward slowly, his eyes never leaving him. He was taking the fight seriously.

_I can't afford to get hit once by this guy. I need to dodge his attacks no matter what!_

With a heave of breath, Big Spin charged. Throwing a mighty right hook, he swung out at Izuku's head. Ducking, Izuku dodged the first blow, only to be faced with a flying knee heading straight towards his chest. Springing backwards he again dodged, only to be faced with a flurry of fresh attacks. Twisting and turning, he evaded each strike as it came.

After dodging and pivoting around his blows, Izuku leapt backwards again to the other side of the ring. The crowds cheered wildly at the exchange. At least they were putting on a good show.

'Where you goin' Spidey? Getting scared?' Big Spin said, wiping his sweaty brow with the back of his hand.

'I'm just giving you room to breath, tubby. You can't squeal on Shocker if you die of a heart attack.'

Big Spin growled angrily as he charged forward again. Pulling his fist back, be prepared to lunch another ferocious assault however before he could throw his first punch Izuku leapt. Landing on his massive slab of a shoulder, Big Spin looked up in surprise just as Izuku delivered a swift kick to his face. The blow sent him careening down into the hardwood floor so fast his head crashed through the floorboards. Izuku flipped head over heels as he somersaulted backward before landing lightly on his toes.

The crowd grew quiet as their champion groaned. Pulling himself up, he stumbled to his feet. Spitting blood on the floor he swayed a little but then steadied as he stood.

'That all you got?' he growled.

The crowd once more cheered and shouted their encouragements to Big Spin. Spider-Man had just gotten in a lucky hit, that was all.

Izuku sighed. It was getting late, and he still had All Might's report to finish. As Big Spin's approaching shadow loomed over him, he thought about all the homework he had waiting for him.

_I need to wrap this up._ He thought as Big Spin's fist rocketed towards his head.

* * *

'Alright everybody, shows over.'

The crowd milled about in disappointment. Izuku was standing on top of Big Spin's heaving chest as the man struggled to breath past his broken ribs.

'Don't forget to tip the wait staff and have a goodnight!'

The crowd grumbled and tossed aside their now worthless tickets. Some flipped him off, while others simply shook their heads.

'Up yours spider freak! You cost my kids their lunch money this month you know.' shouted a woman in the crowd.

Izuku froze and looked up after the dispersing crowd. 'What? H-How's that on me? Hey!'

But they paid him no more mind. The tables were shut down for the evening and the bar was closing. They would have to go elsewhere for their illicit activities tonight.

'Geez, some people am I right?' Izuku said crouching down so he could be closer to Big Spin. 'So anyway, about Shocker…'

Big Spin coughed, spitting out some of the blood that had flowed past his lips from his smashed nose. After a moment his eyes refocused and he looked up at him.

'Shobber…Shobber's not gonna be too habby 'bout dis. He told all of his breadwibbers you were dead. Guess he's gob ta killb ya' a secomb time.'

'I'll worry about that. Now, you owe me answers so pay up. What's the deal with you and Shocker?'

Big Spin groaned again and lolled his head back against the floor. Izuku drummed his fingers against his knees and waited.

'Shobber…' Big Spin started before his eyes rolled back into his skull and he gasped.

Izuku sighed. Standing, he hopped down from the giant's chest and strode over to the bar. The barkeep looked at him warily as he approached.

'Hey, do you have one of those spray thingies?' Izuku asked, miming a spray bottle with his hands.

'What, you mean a seltzer bottle?'

'Yeah, one of those.'

The barkeep nodded as he leaned under the counter and grabbed something. Izuku's spider sense flared.

'Uh-uh. Not that. Careful now.'

The barkeep swallowed nervously and shifted his hand. Producing a bottle, he handed it over to Izuku.

'T-Take it.' the barkeep stammered.

'Hmm. Yeah, this'll do. Thanks.'

Walking back over to Big Spin, Izuku aimed the spout of the bottle at the man's flickering eyelids and he started to spray. Sputtering and coughing the man jostled back to wakefulness as the fizzing soda water poured down his face.

'Ah, fubb my nose! You miserable libble puck.'

'Oh, quit being such a baby. You shouldn't fall asleep with a concussion anyway. Now answer my questions, what kind of arrangement do you have with Shocker?'

Big Spin licked his lips and spat again.

'My arrangemen'? What'ou thib it id? I pay, he proteb. Thab all.'

'When do you pay, and who do you pay to?'

"I seb one of my guy's last Webday of ebery month. They meeb at a laundry on 77ifth. Lebomb Fresh.'

'Is Shocker there?'

'Nob, neber. Jus' one ob his goos.' He sputtered as he started hacking up blood again. Izuku leaned back up.

'Alright. This stays between you and me, understand? Now if you see Shocker you tell him I'm coming for him, you hear? I'm going to keep smashing up his little businesses until he man's up and fights me himself, understand?'

Big Spin nodded weakly, 'Fibe. I'll tell hibe.'

Izuku dropped the spray bottle and backed away. Turning, he started to walk towards the exit. Before he took more than a few steps he suddenly smacked his head. Rushing over to the teller at the cages he produced his ticket.

'Hey, I got a winner here. House odds were ten-to-one, right? Also, can I have a drink voucher? Before the fight I heard something about a free complimentary drink, that's still on too I assume? What do you mean ID?! I'm…over age! Plus, this is an illegal casino, what do you care?'


	15. The USJ

Coming in through his window at four o'clock in the morning, Izuku wasted no time dillydallying. Turning on his computer, he hastily pulled off his costume while it booted. His report for All Might was the last bit of homework he had to do and he had been saving it as his after vigilante-ing treat.

After changing into his PJ's, he sat down and started to type his paper. In it he reflected on the importance of communication and weighing the risk of expediency versus being cautious etc. Truth be told even though it was All Might's class and All Might would be reading his work, he still couldn't drum up much enthusiasm. Homework was homework after all.

It was six-thirty by the time he finished. Stretching himself out, he gazed over at his bed longingly. He could either catch maybe an hour's worth of sleep or head in to the workshop early to get his grappling gun ammunition finished. After a moment's deliberation, he reluctantly pulled on his school uniform. They were debuting their creations today and he didn't want to lose any marks for something as trivial as running out of ammo.

_Maybe I can catch a few z's at lunch._ He thought, yawning.

Shortly after, Izuku - still half-asleep - stumbled through the gates of UA. Practically sleep walking over to the workshop, he used his extra time to complete his grappling gun's hook and line. If everything worked as it should, then his grappling hook should be sufficiently impressive to pass Power Loader's test. Later that morning, he and the rest of class 1-H nervously followed Power Loader along one of the many forest shaded path's that crisscrossed the UA grounds. He led them to a distant megastructure on campus; the massive, domed building known as the USJ.

* * *

'Everyone, welcome to the Unforeseen Situations Joint.' Power Loader said to the class as they entered, 'We'll be conducting our equipment tests in here today.'

The class marveled as they looked out from the top of a long stairway and into the massive enclosure before them. The scale of the glass dome was almost impossible to grasp. Its circumference was easily over two kilometres and from base to apex it stretched to almost a kilometer in height. Housed within was a variety of different terrains representing commonly encountered environments where a hero might operate. Everything from urban landscapes to a mock volcano was under the dome.

Izuku blinked in disbelief at what he was seeing. How UA had achieved such an impossible feat of engineering was mind boggling. As he looked over the various environs, he spotted a yacht lazily floating in the middle of a distant artificial lake.

_It's a good thing I'm a scholarship student._

As they were taking in the scenery, Thirteen climbed up the staircase towards them. Waving as she drew near, she stopped before the class.

'Hello everyone. Welcome to the USJ! Impressive isn't it?' Thirteen asked in her warbled voice. The class readily agreed.

'Thank you. I designed the USJ primarily for disaster response scenarios. If you continue on in the support department, you'll all become quite familiar with this place.' she said fondly, 'As I understand it, you're doing your equipment trials today, correct?'

'Yes.' chorused the class.

'How exciting! I wish I could see your gear in action.'

'Are you not teaching us today too, Misses, uh, Thirteen?' Mei asked.

'No, I'm afraid not. I'd love to stick around and see how you've developed since the Entrance Exams, but I'm too busy setting up for class 1-A. They've got the USJ booked right after you.'

'Yes, and speaking of, lets go.' called out Power Loader as he started off down the stairs, 'Unfortunately, we have to be in and out today. Mr. Aizawa doesn't want anyone else in the building when he begins his lesson.'

'Why is that?' Bukimi asked, as they hustled after him.

Power Loader merely shrugged.

'That's just how he is.'

Dropping the subject, Power Loader launched into his explanation of their exercise.

'Now, for your project I asked each of you to design something to increase your capabilities in some way. Today I will present you with a series of environments. You must use your equipment in that environment in a way that you feel demonstrates its usefulness. We'll start in the downtown section…'

* * *

Izuku gulped as he approached the towering skyscraper. A short distance away, his fellow students and teacher stood watching him intently. Once again, Power Loader had called him up first. Stopping within arms reach of the side of the building, he pointed his arm nearly vertical as he took aim with his grappling gun. His maximum range was twenty-five metres, far too short to reach the top of the skyscraper using the length of his cord alone. Thankfully, he had a trick up his sleeve.

_God, I hope this works._

He fired and the steel tipped dart went soaring upwards trailing a thin, nearly invisible wire behind it. The gun shuddered in his hand as the dart buried itself in the side of the building. Taking a deep breath, he released the spooled-up tension in the wire sending him catapulting upwards. To his satisfaction, he heard his class gasp behind him, but the sound was soon lost as the air went rushing past. Squinting ahead, he spotted his dart embedded in the wall.

His speed was such that he would be sent flying far past his spike. Exactly as planned.

Just as he came to within arms reach of his dart, he pushed a button on his gun and retracted the spike. Now soaring freely up the side of the building, he rearmed his gun and took aim again. Just as he was losing speed, he fired up another twenty-five metres. Before he could lose his momentum entirely, the dart found purchase and he was hauled up even higher and faster.

He repeated this action until he had traversed up to the top of the building. Flinging himself over the edge of the roof, he let himself fall to the gravel covered rooftop. Landing nimbly, he took a moment to get his bearings. He was dimly aware of the fact that his feat should leave him at the very least breathless and exhilarated, but he had already climbed so many buildings as Spider-Man that he barely even registered the height. Plus, it had been a long morning. He really couldn't get away with all nighters anymore. Turning, he peered down on the tiny specks that were his classmates.

_I wonder how high Mei's boots can go?_ He thought with a grin as he readjusted the settings on his airgun.

Once he was satisfied with the new parameters of his gun, he took a small breath and lightly hopped off the top of the skyscraper, swan diving down to the street far below.

_I may have a simple airgun, but it's all about options!_ _I_ _bet this'll be enough to get me top marks for sure._

Thinking about betting reminded him his fight with Top Spin at the casino last night. Assuming the information he received was accurate, the next time Big Spin was scheduled to meet with Shocker's contact was at the end of April. It was Friday the 6th today, which meant that he'd have plenty of time to chase other leads. After all, Shocker had loads of other "breadwinners" he could rough up for information.

Suddenly he became aware of the alarmed screams of his classmates. Pulling his mind out of the clouds, he focused on the rapidly approaching concrete. Twisting himself around, he waited until he was in range before firing another dart into the wall. This time the wire went taut immediately and he felt his right hand get warm as the energy from his fall was translated into heat in the wire. In an instant he started to rapidly decelerate without straining himself or the gun. Internally, the spool of wire in his gun was, with great resistance, unwinding thereby slowing him down to a gentle fall.

Upon reaching the twenty-five-metre limit of the wire, he disconnected the line from his gun and let himself drop the remaining three or so metres to the pavement. Landing with a dull thump, he holstered his gun and walked back over to his stunned classmates.

'Well, how'd I do?' he asked earnestly.

Power Loader licked his lips. Izuku couldn't see his eyes, but he was sure they were as wide as his classmates.

'Midoriya…'

Izuku quickly stopped smiling. From Power Loader's tone alone, he knew he overdid it.

'Next time you demonstrate some of your technology, please tell me what you plan on doing ahead of time. Please?'

'Oh, uh, yeah s-sure.'

'That aside, your grappling gun is very impressive. Extremely impressive in fact. What I find most remarkable is your skill in using it. How did you manage the timings between your jumps?'

Izuku suddenly felt tongue tied. Everyone was staring at him like he had suddenly grown an extra arm.

'Just-was-lucky-or-something-m-m-m-maybe-I-don't-know-not-as-hard-as-as-it-looks.' Izuku blurted before coughing and looking away. Unfortunately, there was nowhere he could turn. Everyone was standing around him, mouths still agape.

'We will need to discuss your training regime. Also, I never got the chance to review your new costume. This is it correct?'

'Ye-Yes, sir.'

Power Loader slightly cocked his head to the side as he looked him up and down.

'It still looks quite heavy, but as long as you can move around...' Izuku felt his spider sense flare up. 'Hm. Did you have to redesign your grappling gun too?'

Izuku blanked on the question.

'Uh, beg your pardon?'

'When you were doing the calculations for your jumps, I assume you recalibrated your grappling gun to account for your new weight, yes?'

'Oh! Right! Yes, I did.' Izuku coughed before continuing, 'Me losing weight was actually how this was all possible. Yes, I redid the calculations on my gun and…and did…it.'

Power Loader twirled his pen and Izuku felt a bead of sweat form on his brow. Thank God he was wearing a helmet and mask. If they could see his eyes, no doubt they'd know he was lying in a heartbeat.

'We'll talk later.' Power Loader said nodding and Izuku suddenly felt weak in the knees. He didn't like the sound of that.

'Anyway, let's continue with the testing, shall we? Hatsume, if you would be so kind?'

Izuku was taken aback when he noticed that Mei was staring at him dazedly.

‘Hatsume?’

'Huh?' she asked vacantly.

'Your rocket boots?'

'Ah!' she said, blinking, 'Right! Everyone stand back and prepare to be amazed.'

The other students quickly obliged her. Scattering away, several members of the class shielded their faces as though she might explode in front of them, but Mei didn't move. Instead she cleared her throat and began speaking loudly.

'Ladies and gentlemen, may I just say how grateful I am that you've all come out today to see my invention.' she placed a hand on her chest and bowed slightly, 'I know what you all must be thinking. Rocket boots aren't anything new. They're old, last season.'

Power Loader frowned as he checked his watch.

'Uh Mei, listen, we're on a bit of a time crunch right now. Can you just-'

'But! That has all changed. Behold! The Air Mei junior!' she said grandly, kicking her legs to show off her shiny metallic boots, 'These boots, patent pending, are the greatest leap in verticality since the ladder! They feature-'

Izuku listened dumbfounded to Mei's presentation before he became aware of the fact that several people had formed up around him. Turning, he was startled to see that he was almost face to face with half the class.

'Hey, Izuku!' Saigo stage whispered, 'That was crazy. When I saw you jump, I thought you were done for. Kasai here just about threw up.'

The pale faced redheaded girl beside him stared at Izuku in shock.

'I never would have jumped off a freaking building. No way. Did you even test your gun beforehand?' Kasai asked.

'Yeah, I tested it.' Izuku said defensively.

_I probably should have tested it._

'Hey!'

They all turned, Mei was glaring at them.

'AS I WAS SAYING. The simple integrated raised heel is not only a must have for the fashionably conscious, but also contains my very own gyrostabilizer! These clever little babies enable even the most clumsy-'

'Izuku, I wish I had your grappling gun. My jumper feet suck.' Hiretsuna whispered dejectedly.

'What? No!' Izuku whispered back quickly, 'They look great, I'm sure Power Loader will be impressed. He probably hated mine.'

'Shut up. He LOVED your gun.'

'No, he thinks its suicidal!' Izuku whispered back, but she and the others looked unconvinced. 'Trust me, I'm sure your gadget is way better than you think it is.'

Before anyone else could respond Mei suddenly spoke out.

'YOU KNOW!'

Everyone turned back to her. She had crossed her arms and was tapping her foot impatiently.

'You know-' she repeated in a softer voice, '-there are other pitches for consideration here today! I would ask you all for just a few more moments of your time so I can explain the rationale behind the colour scheme-'

At that Power Loader raised his hand.

'Actually, I'm just going to stop you right there, Hatsume. We can't afford to waste any more time. We have five more stops to make yet and twenty inventions to work through so if you would be so kind as to use the boots…?'

She exhaled tiredly.

'Fine.'

Without any warning the soles of her boots suddenly fired up with a tiny blue flame and she rose up into the air. Contrary to her boots disastrous performance yesterday, her ascent was actually quite slow and graceful. Izuku and the others watched in amazement as she glided overhead.

'Not so bad am I right? Pretty cool even? Yep, I daresay these are a show stealer.' she said laughing while completing a small orbit around them.

'They are certainly stable.' Power Loader noted, 'Very clean too. No messy exhaust or loud roaring. Very nice.'

Mei broke out into a giant, bright smile.

'Th-Thank you.'

'What's your maximum altitude? Think you could fly up one of these skyscrapers?'

'Ummmmm…' Mei glanced up at the imposing structure. Izuku noticed a flash of fear pass over her face.

'Well, you see, the thing is. The crosswinds up there must be pretty strong-'

'Actually, there shouldn't be any. The dome climate is carefully controlled.' Power Loader said.

'Oh.' she said, swallowing, 'Then maybe I'll just…yeah.'

The tiny boosters on Mei's boots fired more intensely for a moment sending her higher. She flew up ten more metres before she suddenly stopped. Floating for a few seconds she shook her head and started descending again. Landing down beside Power Loader she sheepishly approached him.

'So, here’s the thing. Hovering around is no problem, but long-distance flight is kind of an issue. The, uh, engines have a pretty high failure rate after they've been firing for a while.'

'Oh? What's the failure rate?' Power Loader asked.

'Like…ninety percent after a minute of use? Per engine. It climbs to a hundred percent after two minutes. I-I don't think its very smart to try and go so high with them.'

Power Loader nodded again. He didn’t seem surprised.

'Every rocket-based design for personal flight that I've seen has run into that problem. People have been trying for years to solve it. Unfortunately, nobody has yet. But then again, I'm not aware of anyone building rocket boots at such a young age either. Keep at it, Hatsume. They're very impressive regardless.'

Mei smiled again.

'Next up let's see Moyashi's spring heeled leg augmentation.'

* * *

A few hours later class 1-H was gathered back atop the stairs near the exit of the USJ. Although not as memorable as All Might’s lesson had been, it had still been quite exciting.

'Well everybody I'm pleased to say that you all met my expectations for your first invention. Congratulations.'

There were a few murmurings of thanks and some smiles, but nobody relaxed just yet. They had been through this before. After Izuku and Mei's presentation things had taken a definite turn for the worse. Several of the powered harnesses went haywire and there had been more than a few electrical fires.

'That being said...' Power Loader continued and the students stiffened, 'I've noticed a familiar trend. The majority of you are building harnesses to accomplish what your bodies should already be capable of doing quite adequately. Even if you were to refine your designs, you would at best have the capability of a strength enhancing quirk, except with the added disadvantage of cumbersome machinery. You must build something to enhance your own unique capabilities, something that works with your quirks.'

Power Loader checked his watch.

'We'll continue this discussion this afternoon. Everyone head back and change then we'll break for lunch.'

Izuku joined his classmates as they exited the building. It was a ten-minute walk from the USJ back to the main campus and he was starving. He had skipped lunch yesterday and besides last evening's dinner, all he had to eat was vending machine junk food and toast.

As he pictured the delicious cafeteria selection waiting for him, he was surprised to find himself walking side by side with Mei. He shot her a pensive glance. She was looking away from him, past the wooded pathway and towards the distant skyline of Musutafu. Her posture was relaxed, with one hand in her pocket and the other gripping her boots laces which she had slung over her shoulder, but her pupils flickered as she gazed over the city. He wondered what she was looking at. With her excellent eyesight, she could probably see right into the boardroom windows of those skyscrapers. After a while she spoke.

'Well Izuku it seems like your grappling gun stole the show today.' she sighed, still looking over the trees, 'Congrats. I suppose I should have tried to fly higher, but these little guys still aren't ready yet.'

Izuku was taken aback. He had never heard Mei speak like this before. To be fair, he had only known her for a week, but even so.

'Thanks.' he replied cautiously.

'My boots are cool. 'she said, nodding as though that were indisputable, 'But what you did with your grappling gun was beyond belief. I'll have to step up my showmanship game.'

In spite of himself he grinned, 'Come on now. I was just falling, but you were flying! If anything, I'd compare what I just did to a circus stunt. I may have climbed a skyscraper, but do you think a reasonable person would try and attempt what I just did?'

Mei turned and looked at him thoughtfully.

'Hm. I suppose that's true.'

'Yeah! I mean think about it. Your rocket boots are very user friendly, comparatively speaking. My grappling gun requires a lot of skill and training to use. And if you screw up, your dead.'

Much to his own surprise, his praise was sincere. He really was impressed with her rocket boots. If they didn't limit ground-based mobility so much he'd even be tempted to build a pair of his own.

'That's…not entirely true.' Mei said, though she looked pleased, 'My boots are prone to malfunction after prolonged use. They might fail in the air and then…splat.'

'I-I guess. But they're still a work in progress, right? You'll fix it.'

'Yeah. I mean, of course I will. It's just a matter of time.'

At that moment a shout echoed through the forest ahead of them and several members of class 1-H glanced ahead in surprise. Izuku's ears perked up. If he didn't know any better, he could have sworn that sounded like Bakugo.

'What was that?' Mei asked, focusing on the winding path ahead.

'It must be Class 1-A.' Izuku said, looking in the same direction. The yelling was getting closer, 'I wonder what their lesson in the USJ is going to be like?'

'Probably the same thing we were doing, but instead of equipment they'll be using their quirks.'

'Yeah, that makes sense.' Izuku nodded. He hadn't really been paying much attention to class 1-A or 1-B. There had been no time. He wondered if Bakugo was at the top of the class or not? He heard some of the other kids saying that Endeavour's son was in Class 1-A and he was apparently insanely powerful too. Suddenly he blushed. He could recognize Bakugo's words now, and from the sounds of things, he was in one of _those_ moods.

'How about I shove your ass up your dick, poindexter?!' he heard Bakugo yell.

'That-that is a completely illogical insult, Bakugo! And your attitude will not be tolerated! As class president, I order you to-'

'You can't order me to do jack shit, shit mobile! Here's an idea: Why don't you grab your little stick shifter, jerk it into gear, and go fuck off into a scrapyard!'

'Mr. Aizawa! Sir, may I have your permission to discipline Bakugo, please? He is an unruly, uncouth, unrefined braggart and a bully!'

To Izuku's dismay the rest of the class had become aware of the heated argument and had quieted themselves so they too could eavesdrop on the so-called elite class.

'Sounds like there's trouble in paradise.' Mei said mischievously, arching her eyebrows. 'And here I thought class 1-A would all be goody two shoes.'

Izuku forced himself to laugh. He tried to come off as lighthearted but instead he found himself tittering like a nervous madman.

'I'm sure they're just messing with each other, you know? What's a little friendly ribbing between teammates?' Izuku said, desperately hoping that Bakugo would calm down before they reached each other. However, to his dismay the argument only increased in intensity the closer they became.

'YOU CAN TAKE YOUR DEMERITS AND SHOVE THEM UP YOUR TAIL PIPE, SKID MARK!' Bakugo screamed.

'THAT'S IT! YOU'VE HAD THIS COMING FOR A LONG TIME BAKUGO!' Tenya shouted back just as loud.

'BOTH OF YOU, SETTLE DOWN! NOW!' shouted an unfamiliar voice who Izuku guessed was their teacher. An uneasy silence followed and class 1-H looked at each other with a mixture of amusement and apprehension. From the sounds of things, Class 1-A was just around the corner.

Sure enough, at that moment, class 1-H and 1-A came around a bend in the path and the two groups found themselves walking towards each other.

'Ooooh, drama!' Mei said eagerly upon seeing the uncomfortable faces on the hero program students.

'Hatsume, be nice.' Power Loader called out warningly.

'Yes, sir.' Mei simpered. Izuku glanced at her worriedly. Power Loader couldn't see the little grin twinging at the corners of her mouth.

He considered looking elsewhere, however as the two classes drew nearer his curiosity quickly got the better of him and he couldn’t help but check them out. To make it into UA they had to be the top hero candidates in the country after all and he’d only ever seen them at lunch out of costume.

Some of the hero students looked uncomfortable, including the maddeningly familiar brunette girl, but most of them appeared unconcerned with Bakugo’s shouting. Evidently, they had become acclimatized to his temperament. Walking beside Class 1-A’s long-haired teacher who Izuku knew only by name as Aizawa; the pro hero Eraser Head, he spotted Bakugo himself. From his reddened face Izuku could tell that he was trying his best to keep his mouth shut. Suddenly he flicked his eyes to Izuku and his scowl deepened. Izuku groaned inwardly. He just hoped that Bakugo wouldn't cause a scene.

'Hey Deku, still haven't flunked out of the nerd squad?' Bakugo said brashly as they got close to each other.

Izuku shook his head.

'Nope. How's the hero course?'

'Fan-fucking-tastic. Every day's a real party. Just ask Captain Estrogen over there.' Bakugo said, jutting his chin over at a tall, black haired boy with glasses who had slowed his pace and was glaring at him. ‘I swear if he gets any more macho, a baby shower might break out.'

“Captain Estrogen” went red with anger, but he said nothing. Instead he turned around and kept walking with his classmates, his shoulders locked and rigid. Izuku couldn't help but smile slightly. Say what you would about Bakugo, but he really knew how to piss people off.

'Right…well, see ya, Kacchan.' Izuku called out over his shoulder as they passed.

'Fuck off, Deku.'

The two groups passed each other by without any further exchanges. However, as soon as they were out of earshot, class 1-H broke out into excited gossiping.

'Did you see their costumes? Was that guy with the tail literally just wearing a gi with a utility belt? I mean, I’d want some pockets at least.' Kiska said incredulously.

'I know!' Bukimi replied in a scandalized voice, 'And what was with the floating gloves and shoes? I know they have an invisible girl in their squad, but can't she have clothes made out of her hair? It's better than literally nothing.'

'Maybe she does. How would you know?' Hiretsuna said thoughtfully.

'Speaking of revealing, did you see the girl in the red, uh, one-piece swimsuit?' Saigo said dreamily. 'Not that I'm complaining or anything, but I hope she has a plan if she fights someone who shoots acid or something.'

'I’m glad you’ve noticed their costumes.' Power Loader interjected loudly and they all stopped talking 'They specified what features they wanted to the design agency and that is what was delivered. No more, no less. If you see vulnerabilities, keep them in mind because sooner or later they'll be coming for your help to improve their capabilities. It'll be up to you to address their concerns and make them more effective heroes.'

A ripple of excitement ran through the class at this and they began to quickly list the obvious flaws they had witnessed and how they would fix them. While they debated, Izuku thought about Bakugo’s costume. He had been wearing plain, green armour with grenade like gauntlets. No doubt they increased his firepower, but could he bring his hands together with his wrists so obstructed with cumbersome metal?

_I wonder if Bakugo would ever ask me for help with his costume?_ Izuku wondered for a second before he broke out laughing.

_As if._

'What's so funny, Izuku?' Mei asked.

'Nothing.'

The idea of Bakugo ever asking for help from him was completely ludicrous. While he was thinking over the Class 1-A costumes his train of thought was suddenly interrupted by Power Loader.

'Midoriya,' Izuku felt his chest tighten and his spider sense tingled. 'Can I have a moment, please?'

* * *

Izuku stopped walking and reluctantly turned. Power Loader was at the rear of the group, apparently reviewing his notes. Izuku took a small breath and held it. Trying his best to appear calm, he fell in step beside his teacher and they continued to walk together while the rest of his classmates glanced back at them curiously.

_I guess it's my turn to cause a scene._ Izuku thought glumly.

Stifling a yawn, he could do nothing but wait for the questioning to begin. As they walked, he tried to think of some plausible excuses for his grappling gun stunt, but he kept drawing a blank. He was just so _tired_. A minute passed and for a moment he dared to hope that he had somehow been forgotten until Power Loader closed up his binder with a snap and addressed him.

'That was quite a feat you managed in the USJ, Midoriya. I can't remember the last time I witnessed one of my first-year students do something so bold. Bold and reckless.'

'S-Sorry.'

'No harm done. I trust you knew what you were doing.' Izuku swallowed back the sudden wave of laughter that had worked its way into his throat, 'However, I do want to know where you learned to use a grappling hook. To perform the sort of maneuver you just did ought to take years of training and experience.'

Izuku couldn't help but fidget. Raising his hand, he intended to run it through his hair but rubbed his palm against his helmet instead. Darting his hand down to his hip, he tried to appear nonchalant. What could he possibly say?

'How'd you do it?' Power Loader prompted. Clearly, he was expecting an answer. Maybe honesty was the best policy?

'Well I didn't have any special training.' he started slowly, 'And I don't have years of experience either. I just…came up with a plan and executed it.'

Power Loader groaned.

'I knew it. You didn't know what you were doing, did you?'

'No, sir.' Izuku admitted sheepishly.

'And the only thing keeping you from falling to your death was reflexes and pure, dumb luck.'

'Y-Yes, sir.'

Power Loader fell silent as he mumbled to himself indistinctly. Izuku tried to pick up what he was saying but it seemed to just be gibberish. He doubted that was a good sign. Finally, after a few moments Power Loader spoke again.

'I'm glad you're asserting yourself, but…recklessly impulsive heroes don't live very long.'

'Yes, sir.'

To Izuku's shock, Power Loader extended his arm and put it around his shoulder, his spade-like fingers menacingly close to his heart.

'UA attracts all sorts of people with unique talents and capabilities, Midoriya - including yourself. If I may ask, was support your first choice or did you want to join the hero program?'

Eyes still on the claws resting by his chest, Izuku quickly nodded, ‘I wanted to be in the hero program, but I knew I wouldn't pass the practical test though.'

'The practical test, yes, it is a troublesome barrier, isn't it? Its implementation has been controversial to say the least. But I must say I think you belong in the support class.'

'Oh.'

'I'm not saying you're not hero material. Far from it.' Power Loader added quickly, 'I just think that you can do a lot of good for people within the support program, and not just by designing gear either. In my opinion, being a support hero offers much more flexibility than a regular hero. If you want to work in the field fighting villains, you can. Or if you want to work in disaster relief, you can do that too. Or if design is your specialty then you can work in a pro workshop. I just don't want you getting discouraged thinking you're wasting your time in hero support. Trust me, your abilities will be put to the test in the support program, you just need to be patient. Climbing a skyscraper, though impressive, is needlessly risky.'

Izuku said nothing. Truth be told, he was struggling to pay close attention. His armour was very hot and he felt dead on his feet. As he stifled another yawn his breath suddenly got caught in his throat and his eyes widened in shock. It felt like a thousand ants were running up his spine. His spider sense was going berserk! The only other time he had felt it this intensely was when he was fighting for his life against Shocker. Extracting himself from Power Loader's arm, he whirled around and faced back the way they had come.

'What's the matter?' Power Loader asked, stopping.

The threat felt distant, but tangible; real. Very real. It seemed to be coming from the USJ. What could it mean? Was class 1-A in trouble or was this a part of their training? Either way, he couldn't just leave to investigate, could he? It would be far to suspicious. But then again, what if there were lives at risk?

'Midoriya?' Power Loader asked, a tinge of concern in his voice.

Izuku shifted his attention back to Power Loader and gave him what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

'It's nothing Mr. Maijima. I just remembered I forgot my phone back at the USJ. I'm going to run and go grab it, okay?' Izuku said as he started back down the path.

'Oh. I guess that's alright. Don't miss your lunch!' Power Loader shouted as Izuku began to quicken his pace. 'And don't spy on class 1-A!'

'I won't!' Izuku called back as he took off at his "normal human" pace. However as soon as class 1-H was out of sight, he started to run in earnest. Jumping off the path, he took the more direct route through the woods.

_This better not be because Kacchan lost his temper and started blowing everything up._ Izuku thought as he whipped past the trees.

* * *

After less than a half minute of running, Izuku at last came up to the side of the USJ. The entrance was still quite a way away but didn't plan on entering the USJ if he could avoid it. Jumping as high as he could, he flew above the treeline. While in midair, he fired his grappling gun. The dart latched on to one of the steel support girders that crisscrossed the glass frame of the USJ's domed roof and he was rapidly pulled towards its transparent siding. Impacting against the heavy glass with both legs, he scanned the interior of the USJ below. What he saw baffled him.

Swarming around the various courses were roaming posses of what could only be described as street punks. From their leather and scrap metal outfits, they looked like raiders straight out of an apocalypse movie.

_Where did all of these guys come from?! Is this part of class 1-A's exercise? Maybe this is just combat training…_

His doubts were cast aside however when he spotted Eraser Head engaged in a fierce battle against dozens of ruffians in a massive melee at the base of the giant staircase. He wouldn't be fighting if this was training, he was sure of it. Searching around for the rest of Class 1-A, he spotted Thirteen lying motionless on the stairs and his heart sank. She wasn't moving and her costume was heavily damaged. Clustered around her, several students were fighting a strange, glowing, purple figure.

_He must be a super villain! This just got much more complicated._

The first thing to do was call for backup. Pulling out his old cell phone from his utility belt, he dialed for the police. However, there was no response. He looked at the cracked screen in confusion. It was working, there was just no reception. Growling in frustration, he cancelled the call.

_Damn! Whenever you need it most…_

Suddenly from the emergency fire response area directly beneath him, he heard muffled shouts through the glass. Down below, a group of thugs were chasing after the tailed boy in the white gi he had seen on the path. From the looks of things, they were hounding him through a series of blackened trees and towards a cluster of burning buildings. He was alone and badly outnumbered.

_I don't have time to waste! I need to get in there!_

Mustering his strength, he punched the thick glass pane causing it to explode into fragments. Dangling for a moment, he retracted his grappling hook and fell into the arena. With a grunt he landed squarely atop a cracked piece of scorched asphalt on a road that was littered with burnt out cars. The air was thick with the smell of smoke and ashes as several billowing flame covered buildings roared around him. Instantly, he felt himself break out into a sweat as his already hot armour got even hotter. The fire simulation environment was designed to accurately mimic a burning city neighbourhood, and as far as battlegrounds went it was about as dangerous an environment that he could imagine.

_I need to build a rebreather into my mask. Heat insulation too._ He thought as he blinked back a few tears.

Around one of the buildings, he heard more harsh shouting from the thugs chasing the karate guy and he stood. Sprinting up the middle of the road, he dodged, weaved, and jumped over the cars in his path before stopping beside the scorched wreckage of an overturned semitruck. The boy with the tail had become cornered in a parking lot and he was completely surrounded by ten thugs. Luckily, they hadn’t noticed Izuku yet. Crouching down, he watched as they circled around the hero student.

'Nowhere left to run to squirrel boy.' laughed one thug through his gas mask.

'Ten thousand yen to whoever sets his tail on fire.' called out another as his fists began to glow red hot.

Izuku couldn't see the boys face, but he appeared to be calm. He had adopted a fighting stance, his posture relaxed but ready. Still, for all his mute confidence Izuku could tell that he was in a bad situation. He would need to act now to avoid a catastrophe.

_Quickly, before they notice me!_

While the thugs were taking their time taunting and jeering, Izuku sprang into action. Looking beyond the thug’s backs, the hero student immediately noticed him moving, but was otherwise still. This suited Izuku just fine though. He was used to fighting groups solo anyway. Attacking from behind, Izuku quietly dispatched two of the rearmost thugs with a punch apiece. While the thugs were still unaware of his presence, he lunged forward towards a group of four. Before he could close the distance one of the thugs spotted him and let out a cry of alarm, but the warning came too late. With a running kick he sent a crocodile skinned woman flying into a charred tree before jabbing the other two with a single punch across the chin simultaneously. With a crack they fell unconscious and Izuku turned to the fourth thug.

'Get back, freak!' The villain screeched as he raised his large cylindrical arms.

Izuku leapt just as the man fired a blast of searing hot air. Flipping around the cackling thug, Izuku landed behind him.

'Ha! Nobody takes down Heat Wave!'

'Ahem. Mr. Hot Air?' Izuku said, tapping on the man's shoulder.

'Huh?' The thug said, a dumbfounded expression on his face. Before the thug could react, Izuku's gauntleted fist smashed into him, sending the hapless goon flying across the parking lot.

Izuku turned. The hero student didn't waste his chance and was battling the remaining four thugs. He had already dispatched two of them and was working down the remaining two. He seemed to have everything under control but it was better to be safe than sorry. Loading a rubberized lead ball into his gun, Izuku took aim.

_Guess I'm testing my nonlethal ammunition today too._

Firing, the round smashed into a thug's elbow. With a cry of pain, he fell to his knees just in time to catch a tail whip to his face. Now alone, the remaining thug tried to flee but he was quickly tackled and subdued by the hero student.

Jogging up to the boy, Izuku raised his hand in greeting.

'Hey. Nice moves back there. Are you alone?' Izuku asked.

The boy finished tying the struggling thug down with some submission tape before rising to his feet. He squinted at Izuku suspiciously.

'Who are you and what are you doing here? Aren't you in the support department?'

'Yes, I'm in support. My name is Midoriya. Are you alone?' Izuku repeated, twirling his finger impatiently. There was no time to spare.

'Why do you want to know?' asked the boy, squaring his shoulders. Izuku groaned in frustration.

'Look dude, I'm just trying to find out if anybody else in the area is in danger. Now come on, are you alone or not? Every moment we waste is another-'

'Yes, yes. I'm alone.' said the boy quickly, raising his hands in deference. 'I just don't know where you-'

Before he could say anything else Izuku cut him off.

'Okay, great!' he said as he started to run away, 'You stay here and secure this area. I'll go see if anybody else needs help.'

'Wait! I'll come with you!' said the boy running after him.

Izuku exhaled sharply and furrowed his brow in annoyance.

_I can't fight at my full strength with this guy around. I need to ditch him pronto!_

'Sorry, what was that?' Izuku shouted over his shoulder while sliding a new dart into his grappling gun.

The boy slowed slightly, a wave of uncertainty passing over his face.

'I said-'

Izuku didn't wait to hear his response. Firing his grappling hook at the roof edge of a nearby brick building, he launched himself up and away from the perplexed boy. Soaring through the air, he fired another shot into a distant, blackened billboard to build up more speed.

As he swung forward, Izuku spared a glance behind him. The hero in training was nowhere to be seen.

_I'm sure he can handle himself until rescue arrives._

After a few more aerial pulls, he flung himself outside the fire course and into a rocky wilderness zone. There were no buildings or ledges in range so he was forced to make a landing at speed. With a huff, he crashed into the ground, rolling and skidding as best he could to kill his momentum. Thankfully his armour prevailed and he was uninjured. Springing back to his feet, he hopped up a rocky embankment of loosely piled stone.

Once he reached the top of the slope, he paused to wipe the sweat and soot from his face and catch his breath. It seemed as though he was now in a mountainous environment. A mixture of steep cliffs and plateaus intermixed with coarsely sorted stone channels and sharp peaks combined to create an imposing landscape. Thankfully, he had his grappling gun to help him navigate the crags.

_Just my luck I have to rescue some guy in the fire zone. Why couldn't it have been a girl in the lake that needed my help? Always unlucky._

Pulling out his canteen, he took a long drink of water while he gave himself time to recover from the smoke. As he drank, he picked up the sound of echoing voices bouncing around the cliffs.

'Get em'…dead to rights!'

'The girl! Grab her first!'

Separate from the harsh cries, Izuku suddenly heard a much shriller, younger voice.

'Kaminari! You useless dolt!'

Screwing the cap back on his canteen, he tried to focus in on the sound. It seemed to be coming from one of the clifftops in front of him. Firing his grappling gun up to a distant cliff face, he launched himself through the air. Hoisting himself up the jagged edge of the cliff, he saw three of the hero class students surrounded by over a dozen thugs.

Izuku fought back another yawn as he worked out a plan of attack.

* * *

Momo Yaoyorozu, stood side by side with her two classmates Jiro and Kaminari while the leering horde of villains massed before them. She still didn't know how they got in this situation! The last thing she remembered was getting surrounded by a purple mist on the stairs and then next thing she knew she and her two classmates had found themselves on the mountainside, being chased by unknown enemies! She knew from the glass ceiling above that she was still in the USJ, but she had no idea where the rest of her classmates were. Not that she was in any position to help anybody at the moment.

'Here!' Momo said, quickly creating a machete for Jiro and tossing it to the girl before making a staff for herself, 'We need to break through and find an exit!'

Jiro caught the machete and raised it threateningly towards one of the thugs that was trying to creep around their left flank.

'Hey, Pikachu! What are you waiting for? Fry these guys!' Jiro shot over at the yellow and black-haired boy.

Kaminari bit his lip and stepped back.

'I would, but I'd hit you two as well! I can't control the flow of electricity, just release it!' he shouted back.

'Oh, well that's just great!' Jiro growled, glaring over at him.

With a savage yell two of the thugs rushed forward, knives raised high as they charged. Jiro stepped back and swiped at them as best she could. She managed to intercept one of the blades, but the other thug kept coming. With her machete overextended there was nothing she could do to stop the oncoming steel. Just as the glinting metal knife was about to stab into her, Momo lashed out with her staff and smashed the thug's hand. With a yelp he dropped his weapon and fell back.

'What the heck is up with these guys? What's going on?!' Kaminari shouted as the surrounding thugs regrouped.

None of the villains answered. To the hero students dismay, yet more enemies appeared from around a boulder. The situation was getting worse and worse. Upon spotting them, a large man in the rear of the group of newcomers shouted:

'There're just three kids? What are you waiting for? Charge in and- * _GACK*_!'

Suddenly his words were cut off by a green and white costumed figure that had chopped him in the neck as he leapt over his shoulder. Twisting around while he landed, he fluidly drew a pistol and with a dull _thumpf!_ sound, the thug closest to the trio was knocked down. A bluish-black ball hit the ground next to him, slowly rolling away.

The thugs surrounding the hero students whirled around wildly in disarray to confront this new foe. However, before the villains could get their bearings Momo took the imitative and raised her staff.

'Attack!' she cried. They couldn't afford to let this opportunity slip.

With a roar the three hero students sprang forward. Momo focused on the thug nearest to her, an orange, waxy skinned man in a basketball jersey.

'Wha-' he said stupidly, just as she smacked into his shoulder with her staff before following it up with a thrust to the centre of his chest. The thug collapsed in pain and she looked for her next opponent. Just as she raised her weapon to engage a pair of adversaries, another projectile smashed into the chin of one of the ogreous looking scum, sending him down to the ground in a groaning heap. His comrade looked over in dull surprise before she brought her staff down on his thick skull.

Momo glanced over at the green and white figure. To her amazement, piled around him were a score of motionless villains, all moaning piteously. Whoever he was, he was making short work of their attackers. She returned her attention to the battle but was shocked to see that almost everyone had either fled or was down for the count. Soon there was only one enemy left and, seeing that the numbers were no longer in her favour, the villain threw down her weapon and tried to flee. Her mad flight was cut short however when another ball smacked into her back sending her sliding and rolling down the gravelly hillside.

Adrenaline pumping in her ears, Momo took a moment to recover while Jiro and Kaminari were doubled over beside her, panting. After a few seconds, Kaminari caught his breath and raised his arm in triumph.

'I did it!' he shouted hoarsely.

'Uh, _we_ did it you mean.' Jiro said, rolling her eyes as Kaminari started dancing. Turning away, she looked over at the green and white clad figure. His helmeted head was swiveling from side to side as he surveyed around the defeated villains.

'Hey. Mr. Green-and-White, thanks for the help.' Jiro said.

'Yeah, thanks guy!’ Kaminari added, ‘Hey, I saw you outside on the way over here! Aren't you in the support department?'

The support hero student quit searching around his feet and looked up. His face was hidden by his mask and helmet so Momo couldn’t say whether or not she had seen him before.

'Yeah, I'm in support. Thanks for rescuing me.' the stranger said, 'Say, have you guys seen any rubber ball thingies on the ground? I'm out of ammo.'

'I think there's one over there.' Momo said, pointing at the cliff base next to her. 'How exactly did we save you? Didn't you come here to rescue us?'

The support student’s body went stiff for a moment and he licked his lips.

'Uh, no. Definitely not! I would've been toast without you three. Hey I have an idea, how about you guys secure this area and keep a lookout for anymore-'

Before he could say another word a huge muscular man suddenly erupted out of the ground. The man didn’t even react as rock debris showered around him as he faced them. He was wearing an eerie skull like mask and past his open vest his torso was covered in scars no doubt earned from countless street fights. Cracking his neck, he loomed over the teens, yellow arcs of electricity coursing around his fingers.

'What's the matter? All out of bullets for your gun? How pathetic. Drop your weapons.' he commanded in a deep, guttural voice.

Momo tightened her grip on her staff and gritted her teeth. The man was a giant and he seemed much more powerful then the fodder they had defeated earlier. Even four on one this looked to be a tough fight. Before either of them could make a move however there was a quiet hiss and a steel tether shot between the man's legs. He looked down at the cord blankly.

'Okay. Catch.' said the support hero student.

With a sudden zipping sound, the gun he was holding shot out of his hands and smacked into the villain's groin. With a cry of pain from both him and Kaminari, the villain fell to his knees clutching his pelvis in agony. While the villain was dealing with his injury, the green and white clad teen sprinted forward and kicked the man full in the face rendering him mercifully unconscious.

'Aw dude! Not cool man!' Kaminari said, wincing.

'What?' said the support hero defensively, 'He was on Trigger! You can't be too careful with those guys.'

'How can you tell?' Jiro asked curiously.

'His tongue was black. See? Here…'

The three watched as the support hero retrieved his gun before reaching into the man's vest pocket. After searching around for a moment, he produced a small, glass vial. The three moved in to get a closer look. The vial was mostly empty except for a faint liquid residue.

'Probably took a hit just before he jumped out of the ground. Explains why he abandoned his ambush too early.' said the support hero student casually.

Momo frowned. She had heard of Trigger but she had never seen it before. Wasn't that an inner-city thing? She didn't have much knowledge or experience with street crime. Hell, she'd never even visited the slums.

'Okay, so we're under attack by…junkies? We should- Hey, where are you going?' Jiro said in alarm. The green guy had started to jog away. Running backward, he turned to face them.

'Um, yeah as I was saying, how about you guys stay here and secure this area while I go off alone and look for help? My grappling gun will let me look for assistance faster.' he said, now some distance away.

'Wait!' Momo shouted, 'Let's go as a group!'

Before either party could say anything else, there was a massive, booming sound that seemed to rattle their teeth. Everyone stopped and turned to watch as a giant section of the dome collapsed in on itself. Broken glass covering acres of the ceiling alongside countless steel girders fell, showering down into the distance. They fell silent.

'What was that?' Kaminari asked, mouth agape.

Suddenly echoing around the cliffs came a booming, familiar voice.

'Heeyyy! All of you villains, surrender now, or get beat up later! To all you class 1-A students out there, the cavalry has arrived! Just sit tight for rescue and we will be with you shortly!'

'Present Mic is here! That must mean the teachers have shown up to fix this mess! We're saved!' Momo said, clapping her hands together. Jiro and Kaminari cheered.

'Yay.' said the support hero unenthusiastically. If she didn't know any better, there was a hint of worry in his voice.


	16. Too Cool For School

With the arrival of the teachers, Izuku had no choice but to sit tight with the others and wait to be discovered. Sitting down on a loose pile of rocks, he mused over how screwed he was. Not half an hour ago, Power Loader was telling him to not be so reckless and impulsive, to take his time and develop his skills.

_I doubt he's going to be so buddy-buddy this time._ Izuku thought as he watched Jiro, Momo, and Kaminari use restraining tape to secure the unconscious villains. _Hell, he might just kick me out of the support program altogether. Damn it, now how am I going to get my web-shooters and web solution? Not to mention that Mom is probably going to kill me. That'll be fun._

Izuku took a deep, calming breath.

_I had no choice but to act. I just hope everyone survived._

Suddenly he perked up. His spider senses were tingling. Looking over he saw Jiro, Momo, and Kaminari busily talking to themselves while they moved in to secure a thug who was sprawled out on his stomach. Something about the man didn’t seem right…

'Hey!' he shouted before they could get any closer. They stopped talking and turned to him.

'What is it?'

Izuku hopped off his rock.

'Hold up a sec!' he called as he started jogging over.

Puzzled, they waited until he arrived. Keeping a careful eye on the thug, he put himself between them and the body.

'I think that guy's faking.' he murmured under his breath.

They spun around and faced the body. It didn't move.

'How can you tell?' Jiro asked, her eyes narrowing as she examined the prone body on the ground.

'Because he's laying all wrong. See how he's all tensed up? Doesn't look right if you ask me.' This was utter nonsense of course, he was just relying on his spider sense, but it sounded plausible. 'Besides, I didn't take him out, did any of you?'

'No...' they said warily, spreading themselves out slightly in a semicircle around the body. Izuku noticed the "defeated" thug's leg twitch.

'Here, give me the tape. I'll make sure he can't-'

'Fuck you!' screeched the fallen villain.

Scrambling up to his feet he tried to make a breakaway for freedom. However, he barely took two steps before Jiro's ear grown audio jack, a mutation caused by her quirk, jabbed him in the neck and he fell to the ground howling. While he rocked back and forth on the ground, Momo quickly taped him down to the mountainside.

Swearing violently as he struggled against his restraints, the teens stepped back from the twisting and rolling thug. it wasn't long before the man grew exhausted and gave up. Panting, he craned his head around so he could shoot a dirty look at the four.

'Smug little bastards! You think you're so damn superior, don't you? Fuckin' little pricks…' he muttered under his breath.

The hero students seemed taken aback, however Izuku wasn’t fazed. Something major had to be happening in Musutafu for UA to be attacked so brazenly and he had enough experience getting information from criminals that it would take more than a bad attitude to discourage him.

'I know.' Izuku said, clapping his hands together, 'How about to pass the time we all get to know each other?' he crouched down beside the villain. 'We'll start with you, why are you attacking a bunch of students at UA?'

The thug stopped struggling. Blowing some greasy hair from his face, he fixed Izuku with a disgusted sneer.

'Who needs a reason? Bunch of entitled runts and their fucking bubble…'

Izuku continued undeterred, 'Come on now. There has to be a better reason than that. Rounding up and organizing all you guys must have taken a lot of resources. Who'd profit from it? And what could you possibly aim to achieve? How much money could-'

Before he could continue the villain interrupted him with a bark of derisive laughter.

'We're not here for money!' the villain said angrily, 'We came here for All Might. We just wanted to take that bastard down. Him and his "vision of peace" or whatever the fuck he calls it.'

'What are you talking about?' Kaminari asked, confused, 'Everyone loves All Might, you're-'

The thug spat on the ground and Kaminari trailed off weakly.

'What?! Are you serious? Kid, you've really drank the cool-aid, haven't you? Well things might be going okay for you, but have you seen the way the city looks recently?'

'What do you mean?' Izuku asked, 'Was this a political thing?'

'Political? Yeah, I guess you could call it that. An attack on our whole bullshit society.'

Izuku drummed his fingers across his knee pad as he considered the man. Back in the slums, criminals were pragmatic. With the exception of the odd berserk Trigger fiend, crime was always either about drugs or money. Terrorism was out of his wheelhouse. While he thought this over, Momo moved over to his side.

'Don't indulge him.' Momo said with clear disdain, 'He's just a lowlife who'd rather steal than work for a living.'

'Fuck you, bitch' the man said, glaring over at her. 'You're lecturing me about work? Listen brat, in this day and age unless you've got some sort of in, like a powerful quirk, then if you're poor you're staying poor. If you don't have a quirk well then, you're screwed. Good luck trying to build a life or…or start a family. Hell, while me and my people are scrounging around trying to make ends meet, the one percent are running around playing God!'

'What are you talking about?' Momo said, rolling her eyes.

'I'm saying that your rich mommies and daddies only squirted you out for the sake of continuing their ancestors' little eugenics experiments; trying to breed offspring like prize horses! That's all that matters now. Your fucking DNA…'

Izuku cleared his throat and shifted himself closer. This was going nowhere.

'Okay, I get it. You hate society for being so unfair.' Izuku said, trying his best to sound sympathetic.

The man snorted in disbelief so Izuku continued, 'No really, I do! I've heard about what the mayor and his cabinet are up to, and I can totally understand being so angry at the system. It _is_ unfair! So come on, tell me. Who's you're leader? Who's putting all this together? Don't tell me that Shocker is-'

'Shocker? Man, fuck Shocker.' the man scoffed, spitting on the ground, 'He's just a parasite. People like him wouldn't exist without All Might and his society of peace or whatever the fuck. No, I work for the League of Villains.'

'Never heard of them.' Izuku said, frowning, 'Are you based in Musutafu? Who's the boss?'

'I don't know jack. I just heard they were looking for soldiers, so I came running. Not like I had anything better to do.'

'Typical.' Momo said with disgust, but the thug ignored her.

'Hm.' Izuku murmured, tapping his foot, 'It's an interesting story, but…I don't know, dude. You guys all had an awful lot of Trigger on you and Shocker controls Trigger distribution in this town… Might be that this was some sort of ransom thing.'

The thug curled his lip and sneered.

'What are you, retarded? if we wanted to kidnap a couple of kids why would we attack a hero school? There's plenty of rich academies around that aren't filled with you wannabe hero lunatics. Besides, the League's got sources. Trigger isn't a problem from what I've seen.'

'So what, you want a hit of Trigger you join the League?' Izuku asked skeptically.

'Trigger junkies, wanna be supervillains, hell the League will even take in the quirkless so long as they're willing to fight.' the thug said, shrugging limply against the tape.

'Okay, but how were you going to kill All Might? He's a freakin' legend.' Kaminari asked.

'Like I said, the League's got sources.' the thug lowered his voice conspiratorially as though worried that he might be overheard, 'They got this guy, a thing, called Nomu. Word is the big boss in the League can make these things. They've got all these insane quirks. They can regenerate, fly, super strength, whatever it needs to get the job done. All Might won't stand a chance against em'!'

'You can't create quirks.' Momo said dismissively, 'This guy is just wasting our time.'

'Well see, bitch. We'll see.' the thug muttered as he turned his face back down into the rocky ground. He was done talking.

Izuku rested his elbow on his knee and cupped his chin with his fingers while he considered what the thug had said. Quirk creation wasn't impossible, he of all people knew that. Could the League of Villains really have a means of manifesting quirks? Had they stolen some research or something? First chance he got he would have to investigate the League and find out what they were up to.

Still deep in thought, a voice from over his shoulder suddenly shouted out:

'Midoriya!'

Startled, he looked over. Climbing up the mountainside towards them was Power Loader along with a small group of teachers. Izuku didn't need to see his face to know that Power Loader was pissed. Sighing, he stood up to his feet.

'Finally! The teachers are here!' Jiro said crossing her arms and smiling. Momo and Kaminari exchanged grins.

_Yippee._ Thought Izuku.

* * *

As Izuku had predicted, Power Loader did not take his presence at the USJ well. Despite the small audience, he wasted no time in chewing him out.

'I'm honestly at a loss for words!'

'Sorry, sir.'

'Were you even listening to me, Midoriya? Are you listening to me now? What did I say about being reckless?!'

'Yes, sir.'

'Maybe I've given you too much credit. Maybe you'd be better off in general education! Is that what you want?'

'No, sir.'

'What were you thinking running in by yourself!? Didn't you stop to think about what you were doing!?'

'I don't know, sir. Sorry, sir.'

'Sorry is not going to cut it, Midoriya! Detention! Detention every morning for the next month!'

'Yes, sir.'

'If it weren't for the fact that I believed there was a sliver of hope for turning you around Midoriya, believe me when I say I would expel you right here, right now!'

'Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.'

'I've run out of patience, Midoriya. Do not disappoint me again.'

* * *

Following his tongue lashing, Izuku was sent off with Momo, Jiro and Kaminari back to the entrance of the USJ to have a final rendezvous at the exit before being sent home. The press was going to have a field day and the last thing the school wanted was for their students to have to run through a gauntlet of ravenous reporters in the wake of a terrorist attack.

'Jeez, that was rough.' Kaminari said to Izuku as they walked out of the mountain zone, 'Sorry that you got detention.'

'It's okay. A lot of the support students come in early anyway.' Izuku said, smiling cheerily though internally he was panicking wildly.

_Goodbye sleep schedule! I've only gone out once as Spider-Man this week and I already feel dead. Add on morning detentions that I have no choice to attend and Power Loader might as well have ordered me to sleep deprivation torture._

Jiro gave him a sympathetic look and smiled, 'Well at least you weren't expelled…Hey I have a question for you, uh, Midoriya, right?'

He nodded.

'Back on the way here, when we passed each other on the path outside, what was the deal between you and Bakugo? Do you guys know each other?'

Izuku was taken aback. That was the last question he expected.

_Choose your words carefully, Izuku. We don't want to cause any drama or anything._

'Yeah, me and him grew up together. Why do you ask?'

'No reason.' she said quickly.

'What I want to know is, why aren't you in the hero course? You were taking those guys apart!' Kaminari said enthusiastically, miming some chops and kicks while Jiro and Momo looked away in embarrassment.

Izuku didn't like where this was going. He did the best he could to hold back during the fighting, but he knew that he was moving awful fast for someone who was supposed to be quirkless.

Izuku shook his head in denial, 'No, no. You guys were doing all the work.'

'You're too modest.' Momo said, 'I don't think we would have gotten out of there if not for you.'

Izuku mutely acknowledged the compliment and the four continued their journey in silence. Before long they came across a massive field of broken glass that stretched for over a hundred metres. Looking above them, they saw the sky and clouds moving past the giant hole in the dome. According to the staff that had relieved them, All Might had created the hole. Apparently he had punched the Nomu creature so hard that it had flown straight out of the USJ.

'What were those guys thinking attacking All Might?' Izuku muttered to himself, shaking his head in disbelief, 'The League of Villains must be a real brain trust.'

'Yeah…Hey something is bothering me, who's Shocker?' Kaminari asked following behind Izuku as he crunched his way through the field.

'Nobody.' Izuku said bluntly; taking care to step around a large glass shard.

'Aw, come on! I'm really curious. You sounded like you knew the guy.'

'Hah! Nope, sorry. I just know the name.'

'Oh, well you seem to know a lot about Trigger…'

'Yeah, I, uhm, spend too much time on the internet.' Izuku said before coughing and clearing his throat. _I need to change the subject!_ 'Hey! What the hell is that thing?' he cried in alarm.

The three hero students whirled around to where he was pointing. Slowly crawling up a large, dark stone was a fuzzy green caterpillar.

'It's just some gross bug.' Jiro said, giving Izuku a perplexed look.

'Just a bug?!' Kaminari said incredulously as he rushed over to the rock, glass crunching with every step, 'It's huge! I've never seen a giant caterpillar before! I grew up in the city, so all this wildlife is new to me. Hey do you guys think…'

* * *

Izuku kept quiet as the hero students talked among themselves and about ten minutes later the four arrived at the plaza leading up to the staircase. The rest of class 1-A was milling around at the top of the stairs waiting for them so they could all leave together. Near the head of the stairs Izuku spotted Bakugo, arms crossed and scowling. If Izuku didn't know any better, he would think Bakugo was worried about him.

_Yeah right!_

'At least everyone looks okay.' Momo breathed at the sight of her classmates, 'I hope Mr. Aizawa and Thirteen recover soon…'

The four started up the stairs to the exit. As he climbed, Izuku started to really feel his fatigue. His adrenaline surge from earlier had started to take its toil. All he wanted was a big meal and a comfy bed to pass out in. It wasn't long before he was lagging behind the other three. He just didn't have the energy.

_Thank God it's Friday and I don't have to worry about waking up early tomorrow. Ugh, detention is going to suck._

As he neared the top, the members of class 1-A called out to their fellows joyously. A pink skinned girl with horns rushed down the final few stairs and gave Momo and Jiro a tight hug. Ignoring their protests, she pulled them into a headlock and started laughing. Meanwhile Kaminari hefted up the rock he had been carrying and showed off the caterpillar to his friends who looked at him with a mixture of confusion and concern. As the hero students celebrated their reunion. Bakugo stood still where he was, his expression unchanging.

Somehow, Izuku doubted that Bakugo was waiting for him with a hug.

'Well, well, well. You just had to butt in, didn't you?'

'Hey Bakugo. What-' Izuku yawned loudly,' Excuse me. What's up?'

'Deku, why are you here? You're not in the hero course! Is this what you're going to be doing now? Hanging around the hero classes so you can feel like you're contributing?'

A couple of the A-1 class students glanced over at them.

Izuku forced himself to laugh, 'You sound exactly like Mr. Maijima! And no, don't worry. I only came back to the USJ 'cause I forgot something.' he said with drowsy cheer, slapping his utility belt.

'Yeah right. And when you noticed the attack, why didn't you run and get help? Or did you just want some glory for yourself?'

Before he could stop himself, Izuku scowled. Everyone seemed to be eavesdropping on their conversation now.

'Jeez, you really _do_ sound like Mr. Maijima. Listen, I tried calling for help, but my phone was being jammed or something. I had no choice.'

'You had no choice? Deku, you can't save anybody. The only thing you can be is a victim. So why don't you-'

Izuku yawned again, leaning against the staircase railing he blinked up at Bakugo and shook his head.

'Look, Kacchan, can we do this later? I saw people in trouble so I intervened. That's it. I already got chewed out and detention, so unless you have anything else to say, just leave me be, alright?'

Bakugo glared at him for a while before curling his lip in disgust.

'You're too selfish to be a hero.'

At that Bakugo stomped away leaving Izuku blinking on the stairs behind him. For some reason, his words stuck. Selfish. Was he being selfish? Everything he did he said was for the greater good, but was he just living out a power fantasy? What with his secret powers and his gadgets and his interrogations and all the rest of his double life bullshit?

_Selfish? Bakugo is just trying to get under my skin, that's all._

Ignoring the looks of class 1-A, Izuku popped off his helmet and took another drink from his canteen.

_Salt tablets. Salt tablets and energy bars, that's what my belt needs._

* * *

Meanwhile in Tokyo, Dr. Akatani was sitting in his office attending an emergency conference call meeting between himself, the budgetary committee, and the Musutafu police. Incredibly after months of inactivity Spider-Man had reappeared last night, brazenly attacking an illegal casino near the boundary of the slums. For what reason Dr. Akatani couldn't say, but he did not intend to waste this opportunity. This time they would capture him.

Steepling his fingers, Dr. Akatani leaned forward in rapt attention as the detective continued his report.

'And so, it would appear that the subject has returned to his usual patterns of disrupting petty crime in the Musutafu inner city region.' the policeman said, displaying an image of Spider-Man fighting a large man in a white suit.

'Based on his appearance in this video clip, we have deduced that Spider-Man has drastically increased his combative capabilities as he now has access to professionally made equipment. This opens up yet another avenue for us to track him as there are relatively speaking few independent individuals with the knowledge and tools required to construct a costume of his calibre for those not registered with the professional hero association.' finished the detective.

The Hero Association Liaison Mr. Gizen was the first one to speak up.

'That assumes that he is not working with nefarious engineers' detective. There are villains in the criminal underground who possess the technical expertise required to fabricate professional grade costumes. These individuals would not appear on your list of "independents".'

'I understand, sir. However, those individuals are beyond our capacity to locate at this time. Besides, all of the evidence we have suggests that Spider-Man has remained a vigilante, and is therefore unlikely to co-operate with the criminal underground.'

General Mottaiburimashita stabbed out his cigar into an ashtray on his desk and grunted in approval.

'Excellent work detective. I understand that you and your staff have been working this case at both ends for months now with little to go on. As I see it, you're due for some reinforcements. Now, I don't want to speak pre-emptively but, if things in city hall pan out the way we want it too, you can have military assistance in tracking down Spider-Man by as early as a week after the election.'

'That would be welcome, sir. Musutafu is a big city.' the detective said, bowing slightly.

'I am a little bit apprehensive about expanding our surveillance campaign at this time.' Ethics Commissioner Nābasu said, 'Why was Spider-Man inactive in the first place? Did he sense we were getting close and he was driven to ground, or were there other factors? If it's the former than additional surveillance assets may prove to be a time-consuming mistake.'

General Mottaiburimashita chortled as he lit another cigar.

'High altitude drones, Nābasu. He'll never see 'em coming. Whisper quiet and they can loiter over an area for days. Hell, if we wanted to, we could use thermal or x-band imaging to count his fillings while he walked around his house. Once we find him that is.'

Jūyō Sekkachi tapped his finger impatiently on his desk.

'I am sure that your drones are effective, General. They would have to be considering how much they cost.' scowling slightly, Sekkachi turned his attention back to the detective.

'While there may be the possibility of additional resources being made available to the Musutafu PD in the near future, I remind you that it was determined at the beginning of this operation that your department would be more than capable of handling the apprehension of Spider-Man with your existing resources.'

'Yes, sir.' the detective said stiffly.

'Now, we will expect another progress report in two days. You're dismissed.'

The detective bowed once more before his screen connecting him to the others went blank. Sekkachi turned his attention to Dr. Akatani who had been silently participating in the debriefing.

'Doctor, have your immunization campaigns revealed anything?'

'Yes.' Dr. Akatani said, 'After analyzing the data, so far Spider-Man is not among those who received immunization. Of the quirkless population, 34.6% responded to our request, with those in the 18-34 year-old bracket being the least represented age group. To further narrow down our search, I propose we run a secondary vaccination campaign aimed at young adults, specifically those in high school and university. Based on previous efforts immunizing for Hepatitis A, we can expect a turnout of over 90% in high schools and 40% in universities.'

'Is there any point to immunizing high school students? Our profile for Spider-Man suggests a working professional.'

Dr. Akatani nodded, 'True, but anything we can do to lower the list of potential suspects at this point will prove fruitful in the long term. Besides, the immunizations will be run under the federal health budget anyway. The data is free.'

'Very well. We can-'

Suddenly Mr. Gizen exclaimed loudly and everyone turned their attention to his screen. An assistant had appeared at his side and was whispering something into his ear. After a few seconds the assistant retreated and Mr. Gizen quickly began gathering things from his desk.

'Pardon the interruption gentlemen, but I have just received word that there has been a villain attack at UA Academy.' Mr. Gizen said hurriedly, 'Please forward the minutes to my secretary and I will speak any of my concerns at the next meeting.'

Without saying another word, he signed out. Everyone was quiet until General Mottaiburimashita spoke.

'Actually, I should excuse myself as well. If they muster the counterterrorism council, then I'll be included in the security briefing. Gentlemen.'

At that General Mottaiburimashita also disconnected and Nābasu groaned.

‘More headaches.’ he said, rubbing his forehead, ‘I’ll need to prepare for the press again. We’ll need to be careful how we spin this. Christ, do I hate election years. Dr. Akatani, Mr. Sekkachi, I will speak with you both on Monday.’

Nābasu’s screen went black leaving Dr. Akatani alone with Sekkachi. Dr. Akatani shuffled his notes. Now would be the perfect time to ask about some assurances for the future of his program. The budgetary committee had been infuriatingly candid about what the status was of his research grants for next year. Before he could say anything however, Sekkachi spoke.

'I suppose there is little use to us continuing without the others. This meeting is adjourned until next week.'

At that Sekkachi abruptly signed out and Dr. Akatani was left frowning at his computer screen. His expertise was being called upon less and less. Reviewing census data was a waste of his salary and everyone knew it. If he didn't get an opportunity to demonstrate his value soon, he'd never get his research funding back. 

* * *

Over supper that evening Izuku did his best to downplay the attack at UA. All he said was that some villains had managed to sneak into one of the training compounds and attack class 1-A. He carefully omitted any details about himself being present during the attack as he knew it would just worry his mother to death (as well as his detention). After he was finished eating, he retreated to his room under the pretense that he had homework to do. As soon as the door was closed, he settled in for a lengthy nap. Waking in the late evening, he donned his spider suit. He was going to head out and find some leads.

_The League of Villains may be some shadowy organization, but they still have to buy their Trigger from somebody and when it comes to Trigger, Shocker is the only game in town. I just need to track down their dealer, and I'm in._

Pulling on his mask, Izuku prepared to jump outside when he suddenly heard a knock on his door.

'Izu? Izu, are you awake?'

Jumping down from his window frame, he quickly paced over. Thankfully it was locked. Covering his mouth with his gloved hand, he garbled his voice as best he could.

'Ugh, what is it mom? I was just falling asleep.'

'Oh.' she was silent for a little while, 'Okay. Well, goodnight.'

He listened as she slowly walked back to her bedroom. Pressing his ear to his door, he waited until he heard her climb in bed and her breathing slowed. Letting out a sigh of relief, he crept back over to his window and jumped outside.

* * *

By the time Izuku had finished his intelligence gathering mission, the sun had risen and Musutafu was starting to wake up. He didn’t like to be out this late, but it had taken him awhile to navigate the slums. His four-month hiatus had left him rusty and tracking down the usual suspects had taken longer than it should have.

Rather than try to sneak into his apartment through the window where anyone could see him, he decided that it would be best to just pretend like he had gone out for an early morning jog. Dropping into an alleyway a few blocks from his apartment, he retrieved an emergency change of clothes he had stashed in an air vent.

Slipping into a track suit over his Spider-Suit, he took off his mask and pocketed it before jogging out to the sidewalk.

Keeping a casual pace, he quickly ran through the names of all the drug dealers he knew.

… _Big Pimpin', Mr. Stash, Zoinks…Nope. That was everyone._

He had spent the night putting the squeeze to every street dealer he could find, but none of them knew anything about the League of Villains. Whoever they were, they seemed to be operating totally under the radar of Shocker's gang. Why or how that was he couldn’t say, but they weren't running around robbing liquor stores that was for sure.

When he had run out of dealers to mangle, he decided to try his luck and leave a message for Knuckleduster telling him that he wanted to meet. Hopefully he would have heard something about the League - assuming the old hard ass still remembered him anyway.

In the meantime, he should really try and clear out some of the homework that he had been accumulating. It was only one week into the semester and he already had several pressing assignments to complete; none of which he could afford to shirk.

He sighed. _Homework, homework, homework. Hopefully Power Loader’s detention is like a free work period or something._

Coming to a stop at his building, he entered and climbed the stairs to his floor. Upon reaching his level’s hallway, he heard his mother through the walls busying herself around the kitchen and his stomach grumbled. From the sounds of things, he was just in time for breakfast. Unlocking the door, he eagerly stepped inside and swung the door shut with a bang behind him. 

'Izu?'

'Yeah, it's me Mom. I was just out for a jog.'

'I was wondering where you went off to. Here, have a seat at the table. I need to talk to you.'

'Uh, ok.'

He went over to the dinner table. His mother was seated and having her morning coffee while a big wooden spoon stirred itself into a pot of porridge on the stove. He sat down across from her as she browsed through the newspaper. She was still in her old floral print pajamas and housecoat that she had worn to bed for as long as he could remember.

_Maybe for Christmas I should buy her new pajamas. That might be…_

His mind went blank as he noticed the front page. Splashed across the leading article was a massive photo of Spider-Man fighting Big Spin in his casino. The headline read:

"Masked Menace Spider-Man battles underworld crime bosses for control of Musutafu: New Villains on the Rise?"

Izuku's eyes darted across the news print, his pupils getting wider with every word. According to the article, Spider-Man had attacked an illegal casino on Thursday which was true enough. However, after that everything devolved into spurious reasoning and bizarre supposition. According to the author, based on "anonymous sources", Spider-Man was engaged in a deadly power struggle with the local mob bosses to create a city spanning criminal organization. Apparently, not only was Spider-Man aiming to eliminate his enemies on the streets, but in city hall as well by attempting to blackmail and destroy the mayor's reputation.

Once he finished reading the article, he shook his head in disbelief.

_Who would ever believe such dreck? I swear print media can't die fast enough._ He thought, switching his attention to the stove.

After a moment, his Mom finished her article and she lowered the paper.

'How was your jog?' she asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

'Pretty good. It's not hot yet so I don't sweat too much.'

'Huh, that's good. Maybe I should get you some lighter running clothes.'

Izuku said nothing. From the corner of his eye he saw a glass and pitcher of juice float over to him. Still hovering over the table, the pitcher poured itself and the full cup landed in front of him.

'Thanks.' Izuku said, gulping down the juice.

'I never get to see you anymore, Izuku. You always seem so busy.' she said wistfully as he finished his drink.

'We still get to see each other.' he said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat as the pitcher returned to give him a refill, 'Its just that I have a lot of homework and stuff now.'

'I know, I know.' she sighed, 'So, what's the deal with your detention?'

Izuku almost spat. Choking down his beverage, he gasped.

'H-How did you-'

'Oh, your teacher called me yesterday afternoon while you were studying.' Her eyes narrowed slightly as she regarded him, 'He said you were squandering your talents by rushing through things; that you're taking unnecessary risks to prove yourself.'

'Er, well, I'm still getting a handle on the rules at UA.' he said taking a tiny sip of juice, 'I've got to work twice as hard to get a leg up, I don't want to fall behind.'

She shook her head and sighed again. Izuku felt his warning bells go off. He had just screwed up somehow.

'Mr. Maijima said as much. Izu, I think you might be stressing yourself about fitting in too hard. You already qualified, there is no reason to overdo it. The last thing you want is to burn out.’

Izuku bit his lip. How could he put this so she would understand?

'Mom, I want to be the best.' he said simply, 'I can't just sit back and do the bare minimum. Future lives might be at stake. I owe it to them to work as hard as possible. I know that people burn out, but trust me, I'm nowhere near my limit.'

'Alright, alright. I know how seriously you take being a hero. Just don't go overboard, okay? I don't want you to hurt yourself _and_ I don’t want to hear that you’ve gotten into any more trouble.’

Thankfully after that she dropped the subject and the conversation shifted to his new costume while they finished their breakfast. Afterwards, he went back to his room for a quick nap before finishing off his homework. He had a date with Knuckleduster that night and he didn't want any distractions.

* * *

After a busy day of slaving over his assignments, Izuku snuck out for his midnight meeting. Along the way to the parking building he fully expected Knuckleduster to not be there, yet when he arrived the grizzled old veteran was waiting for him by the graffiti, cigarette in hand and scowling just like always.

Emerging from the shadows, he raised his hand in greeting.

'Hey, Knuckleduster. Long time, no see! What do you think of my new costume? Pretty sweet right?' Izuku said cheerfully.

'Ugh, is this why you called me? I don't care about fashion.' Knuckleduster grumbled.

'Yeah, I noticed. Anyway, you’re not surprised to see me?’

‘I figured mommy and daddy got you a therapist. That or you’d been killed.’ Knuckleduster said with a shrug.

‘Aw, I missed you too.’

Knuckleduster snorted and spat on the ground between them, ‘Mmhmm. So, why are you wasting my evening this time?’

‘I was wondering if you'd heard anything about a group calling itself the League of Villains?'

'The League of Villains? Never heard of 'em.' Knuckleduster said and Izuku's shoulders slumped slightly in disappointment. 'They must be new players in town. Are they trying to muscle in on the slums?'

'No. They-' Izuku hesitated. If Knuckleduster learned that he was at the USJ, it would be too easy for him to figure out his identity, ‘Sorry, I _heard_ they were behind the attack at UA. Apparently, they were trying to kill All Might.'

Knuckleduster frowned as he scratched his chin thoughtfully.

'Was this some sort of political thing? Or revenge?'

Izuku shrugged.

'All I know is that they wanted to take out All Might specifically. They even brought in a special weapon to do it too. A genetic experiment of some kind called Nomu that was purpose built to fight him.'

Knuckleduster whistled lowly and shook his head.

'The whole terrorist group thing is out of my comfort zone to be honest with you. It'd be better for both of us to keep our noses far away from this. The attack at UA made national news. Every hero agency in the city will be investigating.'

'But-' Izuku started before Knuckleduster interrupted him.

'Listen, if you start to sniff around the city asking questions then they might think Spider-Man is connected. If they suspect you, you'll have a lot more to deal with than just the police.'

Izuku was quiet for a moment as he considered Knuckleduster's advice. It was true that every hero in the city would probably be mobilized to identify this new threat. All Might himself would probably take an interest and investigate. They had years of experience dealing with nutjobs like the League, could an amateur like him really contribute anything?

'I hear what you're saying Knuckleduster, but I can't just walk away. At least not yet. I heard that the guys who attacked UA were loaded with Trigger. All I want to know is if Shocker is involved in some way, that's all.'

Knuckleduster grunted and shook his head in disapproval.

'It's a bad idea getting mixed up in this.' he said warningly.

'I already am.' Izuku said; slapping his arms to his sides. 'I chased down every dealer I knew trying to find the League's supplier, but I came up empty. I was wondering if you knew anybody who might know something about any backroom Trigger deals.'

'A-hah! Backroom Trigger deals? No. I'm just a street level guy, Spidey and I like it that way.' he stopped and hesitated, 'But…well no. Forget about it.'

Izuku perked up, his spider sense was tingling.

'No, go on. What is it?'

'No, no, no. It's nothing. I was just- No, I don't know anybody.'

Izuku put his hands on his hips and sighed.

'Come on, what is it? Who do you know? You can trust me.' Izuku said imploringly and Knuckleduster scoffed.

'Yeah, right. Look. I know a guy who has an ear perked for everything that goes on in this city. If we ask him, he might have some information about the League of Villains. Emphasis on the word might.’

'Oh? Hey, that's great! Why don't we give him a call?'

'It's not that simple. For starters, this guy doesn't work for free. It's going to cost a pretty penny if you want any questions answered.'

Izuku felt his new-found excitement wane.

'H-How much exactly?' he asked, fearing the answer.

'A billion yen.'

Izuku felt his mouth go dry.

'A-A billion? I don't have that kind of cash! That's outrageous!' Izuku said indignantly, 'Do you think he might make an exception in my case? This is important. Lives are at stake!'

'Pppffffft. No, he won't care. All he wants is his money.' he growled, before smiling mockingly, 'Does mommy and daddy have a billion-yen allowance waiting for their little shnookums?' he said in a hideous approximation of a doting voice.

'I don't live with my parents! And no. I'm flat broke at the moment.'

'Really now? I read in the paper you were at Big Spin's place. Are you telling me you didn't take a poke around the vault and collect some spider tax?' Knuckleduster said teasingly. Izuku quickly shook his head.

'No! I would never do that. I don't take money from criminals.'

'Hm.' Knuckleduster said, becoming more serious. 'Yeah, I know you don't. I wouldn't be gabbing with you if you did, truth be told. I've seen too many Robinhood's out here. They start out with the best of intentions and before you know it, they're collecting protection money, getting their own thugs, and so on.'

Izuku put a hand to his forehead, 'I'm screwed.' he groaned as he recounted his finances, 'How do you make a ton of money super fast?' he wondered aloud.

Knuckleduster let out a low, rumbling laugh.

'If I knew that, I wouldn't be wearing such old shoes, kid.'

'Great.' Izuku said frowning, 'Back to square one I guess.' Knuckleduster merely shrugged.

'Like I said, Spider-Man. Leave this one to the pros. I know they may not be down here in the shit like you and me, but when it comes to attacks on schools and the like, you can count on them to pull through.'

Izuku crossed his arms, 'Yeah, I guess so.'

'Anyway, seeing as how we're such good pals, I was wondering if you could do me a favour for once.'

Izuku cocked his head curiously. This was new.

'Sure. What's the favour?'

Knuckleduster took a moment to glance around the abandoned car lot for a moment before turning back to Izuku.

'You ever hear about a guy named Stain?' he said conspiratorially.

Izuku was taken aback. That was the last name he had expected Knuckleduster to say just now.

'Yeah, I've read about him on the internet. He's got this whole "heroes are corrupt and need to rethink their ways" thing going on, right?'

'Yeah, that's the guy.' Knuckleduster said. Izuku waited as the larger man drew a flask from his jacket and took a swig before continuing, 'Well he's gone off the deep end. He's always been a bit of a loony, running around like a ninja, using a sword of all things, but…the latest killings.' For a moment Izuku noticed a deeply sad expression crossed what he could see of Knuckleduster's face, like he was suddenly exhausted, but in a heartbeat it had disappeared. 'He needs to be stopped.'

Izuku's curiosity was piqued.

'How do you know him?' Izuku blurted before readjusting his tone to sound more sympathetic 'If you don't mind my asking.'

Knuckleduster took another swig before gasping in satisfaction. Screwing the cap back on he tucked his flask back into his overcoat.

'He used to be a vigilante. A damn good one too. Well actually good might be the wrong word. _Efficient_. That would describe him better.'

'No kidding?' Izuku said in surprise. As far as he knew, Stain had first appeared in the public eye as the hero hunter.

'Yep.' Knuckleduster said with a burp, 'He thought that the pro hero scene was too focused on making money and fame and all that jazz, so he started going after criminals incognito. Selfless and without asking for recognition, you get me?' Izuku nodded, 'He thought that his example could inspire some reform in the hero world.' Knuckleduster snorted, 'He was always too much of an idealist. Anyway, long story short when that didn't work, he decided that he could use fear to force the heroes to change their ways.'

'Is that when he began targeting heroes?'

'Yeah, he went full psycho and started killing everyone calling themselves a hero that he deemed didn't live up to the ideals of his idol All Might.'

Izuku stared at Knuckleduster in bewilderment. This kept getting stranger and stranger. What could All Might's philosophy of responsibility and mutual respect possibly have in common with a murderer like Stain?

'The ideals of All Might?' Izuku said in disbelief, 'You're joking.'

'Oh, yeah. He loved All Might. Wouldn't shut up about him in fact. He would go on and on about how heroes were squandering the lessons that All Might was trying to teach and that once All Might was gone, we would be left with a bunch of vapid, self obsessed, power mongers for heroes that couldn't care about anything but their own prestige. He thought that if the pro heroes didn't change their ways society would collapse into warring warlords with cults of personality and all sorts of crazy shit.'

'Oh.'

'Yeah. Anyway, I've been trying to chase him down and reign him in before he kills anyone else, but he's always been a slippery bastard. Have you had any run-ins with him?'

'No, never. Does he even go in the slums? I thought he mostly "worked"' Izuku said, using his fingers for apostrophes, 'downtown.'

'He goes where the heroes are. However, I'm pretty sure he has an apartment in the slums. Might be that he's holed up in a vacant somewhere.'

'Interesting.' Izuku said thoughtfully, before looking back up to Knuckleduster, 'I could snoop around downtown if you like…?' he started before Knuckleduster grunted and shook his head.

'No!' he said firmly, before coughing and clearing his throat. 'I mean, don't bother. If some hero spotted you walking around city hall, all hell would break loose. Just keep your eyes and ears open. And for the love of God, don't try to fight him. Let me deal with Stain.'

'Hmmm.' Izuku said suspiciously, but he let the matter drop. He'd been burning through a lot of goodwill lately and he didn't want to get in another argument. Instead he lowered his gaze to the concrete and thought about what he had just learned.

_Stain was a fan of All Might?_

Instead of getting some answers from his meeting he just got a heap of new problems. While he thought over his situation Knuckleduster spoke again.

'Well, I'd better get going.' he said, 'Unlike the carefree youth, I have to work for a living. Keep in touch and keep your head down, yeah?'

'Okay. I'll see you later.'

Knuckleduster nodded to him before turning and heading back down towards the car ramp. Izuku didn't budge however. He was still thinking.

_One step forward, two steps back._ He thought glumly. _How can I possibly get my hands on a billion yen? And as for Knuckleduster's request, well, it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission. If I can flush Stain out of wherever he's hiding, then I'll take him down myself._

* * *

While Izuku was spending his Sunday evening suffering through his homework and researching stock tips, the UA faculty were gathering in the staff lounge to discuss the results of their investigation into the attack at the USJ.

Power Loader took a long drink of coffee as his fellow staff members walked in. They were alert and chipper now, but he could tell that they were running on fumes, their attitudes the product of ceaseless caffeine and anger. As soon as they got home, they were probably going to pass out until they had to teach tomorrow. He knew he was.

As the other teachers took their seats, he couldn't help but look over at Thirteen's empty chair. While he had been ambling back to lunch like a clueless dope, Thirteen had been fighting for her and class 1-A's lives. During the battle, the villain she had been fighting had redirected her blackhole quirk and nearly tore her apart. Recovery Girl told him that she would live, but that she was in critical condition. Only after extensive therapy would they know if she had suffered any permanent injuries as her anomalous body was difficult to observe, let alone treat.

Power Loader gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his coffee mug as he thought about Thirteen lying comatose in the hospital. If he ever got his hands on that teleporting villain…

Once everyone had found their seat, Principal Nezu stood up on his chair and addressed the assembled teachers.

'Everyone. Thank you all for coming. I know it's been a hectic forty-eight hours and we're all eager to get some rest. However, before we can go home, I'd just like to review the police report that was sent to us this afternoon.'

'Wait, before we get to the police report. Do you have any new information regarding Aizawa and Thirteen's condition?' Midnight asked. The staff all quieted and looked on tensely.

'Yes. I'm pleased to say that Aizawa is conscious, though his left arm is still heavily injured. Fortunately, the tendons in his elbow were not damaged and he will likely make a full recovery. In fact, he is adamant about returning to his students come Monday.' There were nods of approval around the table at the good news. Power Loader didn't join in. He was happy Aizawa was going to recover, but he had seen Thirteen in the hospital. Once the room had settled down, Nezu continued.

'Unfortunately, Thirteen is still unconscious and remains in critical condition.' Several of the staff members shook their heads and shifted in their chairs. Power Loader carefully kept his face neutral.

_Of all the people to get attacked, why did it have to be Thirteen? She specialized in disaster response, not combat. For them to brutalize a selfless live saver like her…_

'A specialist is being flown in from Europe who has expertise in treating those with incorporeal bodies. They are arriving in Musutafu tonight. I will be sure to let you all know her condition in the morning.'

Power Loader forced himself to relax his grip on his mug. Throwing a fit like a child wouldn't solve anything. They had to prepare themselves in case of future attacks.

'What did the police report say?' Power Loader asked wearily, 'Tell me they were able to get some of these low lives talking.'

Principal Nezu smiled and nodded.

'As a matter of fact, they were. Apparently, the attack was orchestrated by a group calling itself the League of Villains. Their stated objective is to, and I quote "destroy the society of heroes and kill the false idol All Might.". Their headquarters is as of yet unknown as is the identity of their leader.'

'That's not much to go on.' Cementoss said impassively.

'Yes. By all standards they would appear to be rank amateurs. Their numbers largely consist of disenfranchised homeless people and petty criminals. If it weren't for the fact that they managed to disable our security and the presence of this Nomu creature, I would have dismissed them entirely.'

Midnight scowled, 'So, our security was disabled then?'

'Yes.' Nezu replied quietly, suddenly looking much smaller, 'It would seem as though the break in that occurred at the gates a few days ago was indeed the work of the League of Villains. They likely broke in for the express purpose of creating a backdoor in our systems so they could jam all outgoing cellphone signals during the attack. It is also likely that they stole a class schedule so they knew when to strike.'

Nezu cleared his throat uncomfortably and looked at all the graven faced teachers for a moment.

'It would be logical to assume that they have an agent working from the inside. I can't imagine how else they would have been able to act without being detected.'

Power Loader exchanged glances with several of the other teachers.

'A traitor amongst the students?' Present Mic asked.

'Or a teacher…' Power Loader murmured.

The room filled with an uneasy shifting as they all looked at one another. Before anyone could speak, Nezu raised a paw for order.

'We will need to carefully consider everyone's whereabouts during the break in. Thankfully, I know that many of the students were at lunch. We just need to narrow down those students who were absent, and determine what they were doing.'

Power Loader frowned. He remembered seeing Midoriya outside the cafeteria that day, but he had just been transporting his costume to his locker. Still, it was unusual that he was in the halls. And he had been present during the attack at the USJ…

'As for staff-' Nezu continued and Power Loader focused back on the principal, 'Well let's just say that I am conducting my own investigation. You understand if I do not wish to divulge any of the details, of course.'

Everyone nodded in agreement at that. Before becoming principal at UA, Nezu had been Japan's foremost investigator. If anybody could root out the traitor, it was him.

'What can you tell us about Nomu?' rasped a faint voice at the end of the table.

Power Loader turned to the speaker. It was Toshinori. Looking at his frail body, you would have a hard time believing that this twig of a man was All Might but Power Loader and the rest of the staff had witnessed him transform first hand.

Nezu's whisker twitched, 'Very little I'm afraid. The creature is totally artificial and contains DNA from several humans. Additionally, it has numerous quirks that it can activate seemingly at will, though this has come at the cost of near total brain death of the creature. It seems incapable of doing anything but blindly following the commands of its master.'

'Where did it get these quirks from?' Recovery Girl said frowning, 'Don't tell me that its DNA…'

'Yes.' Nezu said almost cheerfully, 'All of its quirks can be tied to its multiple DNA signature which itself can be tied to several missing persons cases. This presents us with quite a disturbing implication, doesn't it?'

Power Loader shook his head in disgust alongside most of his fellow staff. The League of Villains was even more depraved than he thought.

'How is this possible?' Toshinori asked, his expression slack. Though with shock or fatigue Power Loader couldn't tell.

'We don't know. _Yet_. I have asked our liaison to the government, Mr. Gizen, to request the services of one Dr. Akatani, the world's foremost expert in quirk genesis, to examine the Nomu. Hopefully he will be able to provide some insight into how it was created.’

'In the meantime, what can we do?' Snipe asked, tilting back his cowboy hat. 'As long as All Might is teaching here, we'll be putting more students at risk. Now I'm not saying you should leave or anything Toshinori, but we have to be prepared in case of another attack.'

'There is only so much we can do ourselves.' Nezu noted as he stirred his tea, 'In my opinion, our best option is to prepare the students in case they are attacked again. As I understand it, class 1-A has proven itself capable already. With some enhanced training, they might prove to be a powerful deterrent themselves.'

Several of the teachers shook their heads and muttered in disapproval, though a few others nodded their heads in agreement. Power Loader just sighed. He didn't have the energy to argue though there was one nagging thought that had surfaced in his mind.

'The hero students being trained is one thing, but what about the support department?' Power Loader said to the principal who was looking quite pleased with the disruption his proposal was causing. 'One of mine was caught up in the fighting after all.'

'O-ho, that's right. Mr. Midoriya.' Nezu said, his tail swishing to the side, 'From what I understand he did quite well for himself, did he not?'

Power Loader scoffed. That was the last thing he wanted to hear. The way Izuku was heading, he would be dead in less than a month unless he started using his brain outside the classroom.

'That's besides the point.' Power Loader said gruffly, 'He's still vulnerable. If the hero courses are getting enhanced combat training, then I think my class should receive it as well.' Power Loader felt his breath get stuck in his throat as he thought about Thirteen, 'Even support heroes can be attacked after all.'

The staff watched as the principal took a sip of tea. Slowly, Nezu lowered his cup and looked at him. His eyes gleaming intently while he considered his request.

'Very well.' Nezu said finally, 'Though I will leave it to you to come up with a lesson plan. Now if there is no further business, I think we will break for the evening. We will all have a full day tomorrow, and we'll need our wits about us.'

At that Nezu hopped down from his chair and the rest of the faculty stood up. Power Loader didn't need to be told twice. Sweeping his things into his bag, he waved away the calls from his colleagues and exited into the hallway. Starting off for the parking lot, he could only hope that his headache cleared before he got to bed. As he walked, he heard a voice call out to him.

'Excuse me, Maijima. May I have a moment of your time?' Power Loader turned back in surprise. It was Toshinori.

'Here, let's walk and talk.' Toshinori said.

Power Loader shrugged and kept walking though he felt curious in spite of himself. He hadn't had a chance to speak with All Might privately about anything yet. What could he possible want? Soon the legendary hero fell in step beside him and he felt a rising sense of excitement as he waited for All Might to speak.

'Forgive me, Maijima but I didn't know that one of your students was involved in the attack. Remind me, which one was he again?'

_Why does he want to know about Izuku?_ Power Loader wondered, though he kept his confusion out of his voice when he answered.

'Izuku Midoriya. Green hair, green eyes, freckles. Wears green and white armour.'

'Ah! Right, I remember him now. He did good work in my foundational hero exercise. How did he find himself involved in the attack?'

'Oh, while we were walking back from our lesson at the USJ he remembered that he forgot his smart phone of all things on the course and ran back to get it. From what he told me, he jumped up to the perimeter wall-'

'Jumped up? I thought Izuku didn't have a quirk?'

'He doesn't.' _At least, I think he doesn't._ 'We were doing equipment trials and Midoriya built himself a grappling hook to demonstrate.'

'Ah, I see. Please continue.'

'Yes. Well anyway from the top of the wall he was able to see the villain attack in progress and he, in his aged wisdom, decided to leap into the fray.'

'Really? Why?'

'He claims he saw one of the class 1-A students get surrounded by villains and he couldn't let him fight alone.' Power Loader paused as Toshinori shot him a look, 'I know. He's quite the romantic. Anyway, after the villains were defeated, the little genius decided to rush off and see if he could rescue anyone else. Needless to say, once I found him, I gave him a month's detention. I'm hoping I can drill some common sense into his skull before he gets himself killed.'

'He was able to fight without a quirk?' Toshinori asked incredulously.

'Yes. For all his faults in judgement, Midoriya is actually quite adept in a diverse range of skills.' Power Loader admitted begrudgingly, 'How he survived long enough to _learn_ those skills is beyond me. I'm just hoping that with some tough love I can whip him into shape.'

'Hm. Yes. That's very interesting. Thank you, Maijima. I'll keep that in mind when I teach my class.'

Power Loader hesitated and stopped and Toshinori looked back at him before stopping himself.

'What is it?' Toshinori asked.

They stood there for a moment. Toshinori eyed him quizzically while he thought things through.

_Could there be more to Izuku Midoriya than meets the eye?_

'Maijima…?'

Power Loader shook his head and cleared his thoughts. He was too exhausted for all this conspiracy nonsense.

'Its nothing. Midoriya is just one of those students you know?'

Toshinori nodded and smiled.

'Yes, I can imagine.'


	17. More Money, More Problems

The weekend ended too soon for Izuku. It felt like he had just managed to get his homework finished before his Mom was banging on his door to wake him up for school on Monday. Reluctantly climbing out of bed and dressing himself, he set off for his early morning detention. Exiting his train, he shambled down the platform steps and off towards UA, yawning every few steps. He had no idea what Power Loader had in store for him, but he hoped it was at least better than being suspended or expelled. It still sucked that he had to sacrifice his mornings though. That was the real punishment as far as he was concerned. For the next month he had to come in at 6:00am until 7:00am every weekday for all of April. It didn't seem like a lot, but if you were only operating on four hours of sleep a day like he was, an extra hour was a big deal.

As he approached the gate to UA, he was unsurprised to see a gathering of news vans and camera's setting up for the day. With the exception of a small quote from Principal Nezu, UA had yet to make a formal statement regarding the villain attack. A few of the reporters eyed him with predatory interest over their bagels and coffee, but he was able to scoot past the threshold of the school gate before they could mobilize and intercept him.

_It's going to be fun battling my way through the press when I'm leaving school today, that's for sure. At least I'm not in class 1-A. I bet they'll have reporters breathing down their necks the second they leave school grounds._

Suddenly he had a terrible realization. His classmates had probably learned by now that he was at the USJ during the attack – or at the very least were curious as to where he was at lunch. Would they be bombarding him with questions all day? He groaned. He'd need to learn what class 1-A was telling people before he started opening his mouth. He didn't want to sound like a bragging idiot or conversely like he was being a smarmy asshole by not sharing information. Shaking his head, he quickened his pace. He didn't want to risk Power Loader's wrath by being late.

As he approached his homeroom, he felt a growing sense of unease. He had never received a legitimate detention before. Back when he was at Aldera Jr. High he had gotten in trouble often enough, but that was just because of Bakugo setting him up for one thing or another.

_Power Loader was really pissed off too._ He thought nervously, _Maybe I'm not so lucky to only get detention after all._

Stepping into the empty classroom, he was immediately greeted by Power Loader who was seated at his desk.

'Midoriya, you're here. Good. Take your seat.' Power Loader said crisply.

Wordlessly he walked over to his station and sat down. Unpacking his school things, he took a deep breath and waited. Mr. Tamanegi's preferred detention activity was to make his students sit quietly while he stalked women on social media. It was mind numbingly boring for some, but Izuku actually kind of liked it. He could daydream to his heart's content, practice his drawing, and even have a snooze if the room was particularly full.

_I doubt Power Loader is going to be such a pushover though. He'll probably make me write lines or something. Whatever, as long as it isn’t more homework, I’ll survive._

He didn't have to wait long. After a few moments Power Loader stood up and began walked his way. Izuku’s jaw dropped when he saw the thick stack of folders in his arms that came halfway up his chest.

_…kill me…_

Power Loader made no notice of his expression. Instead he spoke as though nothing was out of the ordinary.

'I thought for a while about how best to address your self control problem and I believe I've come up with a solution.' he said; drawing near, 'In my hands are the after-action reports for several heroes that were killed in the line of duty. Like you, all of these heroes were young with a promising future ahead of them, but for whatever reason they committed to a reckless action that ended up getting themselves, as well as innocent civilians, killed. I would like you to review every one of these files and write a report on each one, detailing what they did wrong, and how you could avoid their mistakes. Do you have any questions?'

Izuku gulped. Detention was a lot more serious than he thought it would be.

'N-No, sir.'

'Good. You may begin.' he said, thumping the pile of folders down on his table, 'I suggest you use your time wisely. I will extend your detention for as long as needed until you finish these reports.'

At that, Power Loader went back to his desk. Trying his hardest not to have a mental breakdown, Izuku took the first folder and gingerly opened it. Inside was an extremely graphic photo of what looked like a collapsed tunnel that had partially buried several people including a brightly costumed woman.

Even after seeing several dead bodies up close and in person while he was on patrol, Izuku still felt queasy. Beneath the attached photo, the report read:

Hero Name: Sun Glider

Status: Deceased (KIA)

Title Summary: Unnecessary use of quirk resulting in explosion of utility gas line. Six killed, eleven wounded.

As Izuku started to read he started to feel more and more nauseous. Whoever had compiled the report was extremely thorough and spared no detail no matter how grisly. As he attempted to get through the report without spewing his breakfast, he was thankfully distracted by the sound of approaching footsteps. Glancing up from his work, he saw Mei enter the classroom.

She was half-heartedly digging through her backpack as she walked through the door. She did a double take upon noticing him, but said nothing. Instead, she wordlessly went to her table at the front of the class. Once she was seated, Power Loader spoke.

'All right, you're both here. Hatsume, you will continue your work packet. I need to go and supervise the development studio. While I'm gone there will be no talking or distracting one another. Just concentrate on your work.' He fixed the two with a steely gaze. 'Understand?'

'Yes, sir.' said Mei and Izuku in unison.

Nodding, Power Loader left the room and Izuku turned back to his booklet. A rising sense of guilt in the back of his mind.

_I guess Mei got detention for that fuel explosion last Thursday._

He briefly considered the viability of an apology before he dismissed the thought. All that would do is make things much worse than they already were. Setting his attention back to the report, he resumed reading.

* * *

Once detention ended Izuku wasted no time in closing up the report he was working on. There was still an hour and a half before class started and he wanted to get his mind as far away from the gruesome contents of the after-action reports as possible. As soon as he was out of the classroom, he was immediately joined by Mei.

'So?' she demanded as they walked out into the hall, 'What happened on Friday?!'

He sighed and told her the same story he had told Power Loader. He described meeting the boy in the white gi, how the hero student had "rescued" him from the villains, meeting up with Momo, Jiro and Kaminari in the mountain zone, then being "rescued" again by the arrival of the teachers.

'…and so I got a month's detention for my trouble.' Izuku finished as they walked down the final stretch of hallway towards the development studio.

Mei tisked and shook her head wisely.

'Such foolishness.' she said sagely, 'I can scarcely believe it. To think that the top student would do such a thing.'

He narrowed his eyes.

'I can't tell if you're serious or not. But anyway, yeah.' he shrugged, 'I assume you got detention for your runaway boots? How long do you have?'

'A week.' she said cheerfully, 'Sucks you got a month. But hey, look on the bright side, we still get to go into the development studio and build stuff. Could be worse!'

'I guess so.'

* * *

Izuku spent his workshop time improving the helmet of his costume with a rebreather and retractable face shield to increase his survivability in high heat and low oxygen environments. He also took the opportunity to pocket a few "spare" parts from his workbench for Spider-Man while he was at it. Reusing was better than recycling after all.

While he worked, he was approached several times by his classmates who demanded to know what had happened at the USJ and each time he had to endure the withering stare of Power Loader while he stammered out an increasingly milquetoast version of his story.

Once, their extra development studio period ended, they returned to homeroom for their regular classes. To Izuku's annoyance he found that he had to repeat his story several more times as the morning wore on. By the time lunch arrived, he had recited his tale over a dozen times and he was starting to feel like a human record player. Thankfully, the constant questioning was postponed by Power Loader clearing his throat loudly while they were packing up to leave for the cafeteria.

'Before we all head off for lunch, I would just like to remind you all about the upcoming Sports Festival.' he said.

Everyone in the class dropped what they were doing and looked up to the front excitedly.

'The Sports Festival is a proud tradition here at UA. Beyond being an important physical exercise, it also serves as a reminder to us all about the importance of hard work and fair play.'

'Yeah, and advertising revenue.' Mei said snidely and several students smirked.

Power Loader smiled, 'Yes. I'm sure you've all watched the Sports Festival on TV before. It remains the most popular sporting event in Japan and the revenue generated goes a long way to pay for all the equipment you guys break. Anyway, it will begin in two weeks from today and this year consists of three events. The first is an endurance test. The top forty-two performers of which will be able to progress to the second round which is a co-operative team event. Those teams who succeed will advance to the third round which is a structured tournament where students will attempt to knock one another out of a ring. The last student standing is declared the winner and they, along with second and third place will receive medals for their efforts.' Power Loader paused and looked over the excited class, 'Are there any ques-'

Immediately several hands shot up in the air but Mei beat them all by simply jumping out of her desk and shouting out her question as she stood.

'What kind of gadgets can we use in the events?!' she asked breathlessly, hand still raised.

'You may bring anything you want so long as you clear it with me first. However, I should warn you that you are not permitted to bring guns that are intended to fire at your opponents. Whether they use nonlethal ammunition or not.'

The class let out a collective groan of disappointment and Power Loader shrugged consolingly. Izuku frowned and raised his hand, Power Loader saw him and quickly added.

'Grappling guns are allowed but only if they fire grappling hooks. And no. You're not allowed to use them offensively.' Power Loader said and Izuku lowered his hand. Power Loader licked his lips before he continued.

'While we're on the subject let me just say that you also cannot make tasers, blinding lasers, chemical weapons such as tear gas, sleeping gas - actually any kind of gas except smoke -, crossbows, gamma radiation emitters - don't even get me started on that one - , explosives, sonic disruptors, flechette launchers, nausea inducing microwave guns, flamethrowers, ice projectors, plasma blasters, cannons, or catapults.'

The class immediately erupted into an uproar at the devastating news.

'But-but that's totally unfair!' Hiretsuna cried in frustration, banging her fist on her table, 'How are we supposed to win?'

Power Loader sighed, 'The rules are in place for student safety.'

His words fell on deaf ears however as the class continued to complain.

'But there's a guy in class 1-A who literally shoots explosions at people! And there is another guy who is both a living flamethrower and an ice projector! Are they banned from using their quirks?' Saigo asked and several other students nodded their heads in agreement.

'Yes, their quirks are allowed. Any quirk is fair game.' Power Loader said and the class moaned.

'The system is rigged!'

'This is such bullsh…uh…crap!'

'No wonder support always loses!'

'Hey! Wait a minute, this is terrible!' Mei said suddenly and the class went silent, 'If we can't build what we want, then how're we supposed to market our inventions? Never mind winning, a lot of important people watch the Sports Festival and I was planning on using the free air time to showcase my babies! There is money to be made, dammit!'

Izuku, who up until this point had been relatively calm during the discussion, suddenly sat bolt upright in his seat. It was all so simple.

_Money! I need money! Loads of people watch and bet on the Sports Festival. It's one of, if not the biggest, sporting event of the year! I could bet on myself on the first round and cash in big if I win the tournament! The odds against me would be insane, especially if I place my bet early in the first round! The odds might be as crazy as a hundred to one!_

As he stirred in his desk and raised a hand to ask a question, Power Loader attempted to calm the class down before he had a full-blown riot on his hands.

'Everyone, listen! Now, while it's true that the support department doesn't have the best track record at the games…'

'I wonder why!' Kiska said bitterly.

'…we have always made a strong showing and I expect no less from all of you this year. Remember there is more to the events than just showing off or winning. It's about comradery, good sportsmanship, and unity between students.'

The class went silent for a moment.

'Fuck that, I want to win!' muttered an unidentifiable voice before the class once again broke down into arguing.

Power Loader threw up his arms in frustration.

'Its lunchtime. Class dismissed.' he said before practically running to the exit. The students angrily shouted after him as he made a hasty retreat for the safety of the staff lounge.

'Hey Midoriya.'

Izuku turned. Moyashi was speaking to him.

'Are you going to enter the tournament?'

'Hell yeah!' Izuku said immediately, slamming his textbooks into his backpack, 'I'm going to win it too!'

* * *

On their way to the cafeteria, Izuku and his fellows were in the middle of an animated conversation about how unfair the Sports Festival was when they were forced to stop because of a large mass of students blocking the hall in front of class 1-A’s homeroom. Curious, they joined the crowd.

'What's going on?' Izuku asked a random student.

'Didn't you hear? This is the class that defeated the villain attack at the USJ!' the girl said excitedly, 'It was all over the news!'

Before he could ask her anything else, he heard a brash voice shout out from the classroom door.

'Piss off you worthless extras! Stop gawking at us and go back to your mediocre lives.'

The crowd wavered and a few people exchanged confused looks. The crowd thinned as people backed away and Izuku was unsurprised to see Bakugo standing the doorway, sneering at them all.

_Bakugo sure knows how to win over a crowd._ Izuku thought, rolling his eyes.

As the gathered students milled about uncertainly in front of class 1-A's door, a tall boy with dark purple hair and bags under his eyes sidled his way to the front of the crowd.

'You know,' the purple haired newcomer began, 'many of the students enrolled in general studies or the other courses did so because they didn't qualify for the hero course. If we do well enough at the Sports Festival though, the school administration said that they will consider transferring us into the hero program. If I were you, I would watch out. You're certainly not making any friends by acting so arrogantly.' he said calmly, disdain written clearly on his face.

'Ooh, real scary. I'll be careful to watch my back while I kick your ass in the festival. Fuck off, dweeb.'

The boy gave Bakugo a hard stare before marching away. Several members of the crowd broke away with him, haughtily talking about how rude class 1-A was.

'They're just a bunch of elitest jerks.'

‘Some heroes they’ll turn out to be.’

'Assholes! I hope you take him down, Shinso.'

Bakugo's sentiment was not lost on Izuku's fellow support class and they too started talking.

'Wow,' whistled Kiska, 'it might be competitive in support, but at least we don't call the other classes worthless. What a tool.'

'I wish there was, like, an attitude test for getting into class 1-A.' Moyashi said quietly, 'I think there is more to being a hero than just having raw power…'

The others voiced in agreement. As Izuku and his classmates waited for the hall to clear so they could proceed, several members of class 1-A exited their classroom and started off for the cafeteria. At their head was Bakugo who was pushing his way through the hostile crowd while the rest of class 1-A sheepishly followed behind him.

'Out the way, dorks.' Bakugo said as he elbowed past.

'Don't judge all of us by that blonde kid!' pleaded a pink girl that was walking behind him to the crowd, 'We're not claiming we're better than you or anything!'

'That's exactly what we're doing.' Bakugo interrupted and the crowd murmured angrily, 'If you've got a problem with that, then do something about it at the Sports Festival. Otherwise, quit bitching.'

As Bakugo exited the crowd he came face to face with Izuku. Before Bakugo could say anything, Izuku grinned broadly and fell in step beside him.

'Hey, Kacchan. You're in top form today. You've managed to piss off like three quarters of our year in one go. Well done.'

Bakugo snorted derisively.

'Deku, please tell me you're going to enter the Sports Festival. I've been wanting to put you in your place for _ages_.'

'Yeah, I'm entering. And I'm going to win too.' Izuku said happily and Bakugo laughed.

'Oh, really? Well assuming you make it to the third round, what are you going to do in the tournament, Deku? Mumble me into submission?'

'Actually, I was going to pummel you into submission.'

'Cool.' Bakugo said, clearly unintimidated, 'Well we'll see how that goes, noodle arms.'

Izuku did his best to chuckle dismissively though his laugh came off a bit too forceful.

'What? Noodle arms?! I'm in way better shape than you are, Bakugo. Wanna arm wrestle?'

Bakugo smirked but said nothing. Before long he, Bakugo and the rest of class 1-A and 1-H came up on the cafeteria. As soon as they entered Bakugo gave him a sharp nudge and Izuku glared over at him.

'Run along, Deku. Go sit at the loser table where you belong.' he said, shooing him away.

'Okay, enjoy the _hero_ table, Kacchan.' Izuku said coldly. As soon as he turned his back to class 1-A he felt embarrassed at himself for acting so immature and confrontational. He knew he shouldn't stoop to Bakugo's level, but he couldn't help himself.

_Whatever. I need to think about how I can win!_

Evidently that was the same thought on everyone else's mind as they sat, silently munching away. Eventually the silence was broken by Moyashi who seemed much more at ease then his fellows.

'Well unlike you lot I know for sure that I don't stand a chance. In fact, I'm not even going to bother competing.' he said, in an oddly upbeat voice.

Izuku glanced over in surprise.

'Really? Why not?'

'No point.' he said quietly, 'But what about you? ' he asked in a louder, firmer voice, 'You said you were going to win. What's your plan?'

Izuku felt himself blush slightly as everyone turned their attention to him.

'W-well I was planning on just running through the first challenge. It's an endurance event, right? As long as I maintain a good pace and use my grappling gun effectively, I think I have a pretty good chance of at the very least qualifying for the team event. Getting into the top forty-two doesn’t seem impossible.’

Moyashi nodded, 'Yeah, but what about the second challenge though? If it's a team event then you won't have any guarantee of getting good teammates.' he hesitated for a moment before continuing, 'No offense, but because your quirkless I don't know if anyone would even want you in their team.'

Izuku kept his expression light as Moyashi spoke before responding, 'Yeah, I know. That's actually a really big problem for me. Hey, I have an idea, why don't we all try and get through the first event together, then team up for the second event!'

He looked around the table for support, but the everyone just glanced at each other uncertainly.

'I don't know.' Hiretsuna said stiffly, 'I think I have a pretty good chance of clearing the first event too. If I got to the second event, I would want to partner up with the strongest people I could…' she cleared her throat as everyone stared at her, '…and I don't think that's necessarily other support students.' she said, trailing off.

'Well I'm down for a team up!' Mei said eagerly, 'I know my quirk sucks in combat, but I've still got my babies! I can contribute.'

'But do you think you can even make it past the first event though? Those top forty-two places will be really competitive.' Saigo pointed out.

'S-Sure! I'm in pretty okay-ish shape.' she said, slapping her stomach with gusto. The abrupt gesture caused Izuku to choke on his juice as he held in his laughter, 'Plus, I can build a grappling gun of my own, and maybe I'll try and iterate on my rocket boots too.'

'Oh-oh-okay.' Izuku sputtered, hard swallowing as he gasped for air, 'So that's two. Me and Mei. Anybody else? Come on guys, we can all work together and maybe even win!'

'Alright.' Hiretsuna began wearily, 'if you really want-'

'You know what, I'll join too.' Saigo said over her, grinning, 'If by some miracle I get through the first round, we can team up.'

'Why don't we all just promise to join up together if we make it through to the second round?' Izuku said to the table. Everyone started nodding agreeably. After all, it was such a long shot that there was no point in refusing.

'Only forty-two available spots…' Mei said thoughtfully as she inspected her potato salad, 'There are forty students in the hero program alone. All of those guys will probably qualify easily.'

'Unless we can knock them out of the race somehow.' Izuku pointed out, 'We'll need every advantage we can get for the later events. Ideally, we would be able to eliminate the toughest opponents in the first round so we don't have to fight them in the tournament.'

'You're already thinking about the tournament? I wish I shared your optimism, Izuku.' Bukimi said grinning, 'With all the cool stuff against the rules, I don't know what we could build to take out the hero class's heavy hitters.'

Izuku frowned.

'Missiles.' Kiska said suddenly, 'Power Loader never said anything about missiles.'

At that everyone started excitedly talking about what they thought might help them win. Izuku could tell the discussion was getting derailed somewhat when Bukimi started debating with Saigo the merits of building a satellite, but he was enjoying himself too much to try and refocus the conversation.

_All things considered Class 1-A might have the better quirks but I reckon class 1-H has the better people._ Izuku thought smiling as everyone happily chatted away in front of him.

* * *

Ochaco absently poked at her lunch as Tenya and Bakugo got into another shouting match. Their daily arguments were starting to remind her of the screaming arguments her neighbours sometimes had. Though to be fair they had thirty years of marriage to hate each other, Bakugo and Tenya had only known each other for a week.

'Hey, Earth to Uraraka. Hellooo.'

Ochaco blinked herself out of her stupor and snapped her eyes over to the floating uniform at her side.

'Oh, sorry Toru. I must have spaced out for a bit. What were you saying?'

'I was just wondering if you plan on getting serious for the Sports Festival! Tsu was saying she's planning on going for the gold no matter what.'

'I'm not going to pull any punches *ribbit*. I just want to say that now in case I start acting weird later.' Tsuyu said matter of factly. Ochaco grinned at the frog girl. She was always so confident.

'Yeah, I'm going for it! A lot is riding on me being a successful hero. I can't afford to fail.' Ochaco said.

Momo looked at her and nodded in approval, 'Good. It wouldn't do to have our class be seen as not putting in an earnest effort. Our reputation has been damaged enough already I think.' she said glaring down the table at Bakugo.

'Competition is going to be pretty rough. Who do you think is going to make it into the final stage of the festival?' Ochaco asked.

'Hmmm. Well Bakugo and Todoroki for sure.' Momo said and the other girls nodded. They were the most powerful in the class. 'But other than them it's really a toss up. Almost anyone stands a fair chance, I think.'

'What worries me is class 1-B. We don't know what their quirks are.' Ochaco said nervously, looking over at their table.

Class 1-B was the other hero program class at UA. Much to their chagrin, despite having an identical curriculum to class 1-A they were largely seen as "the slow class" in the eyes of the rest of the school. As a result, they viewed class 1-A as their rivals. No doubt they were eager to prove to the school otherwise during the Sports Festival.

'There are all sorts of people to be worried about *ribbit*. There could be wildcards anywhere who might be hiding really powerful quirks that would love to take our place.' Tsu said.

'What are the chances of that though? We all took the entrance exam, and we were the ones who qualified.' Momo said imperiously, though Ochaco couldn't help but notice that her eyes shifted nervously around the cafeteria hall.

'Well yeah, but our quirks just so happened to be good at destroying robots. Who knows what the teachers have in store for us?' Ochaco said.

'I'm worried about that support class guy, Midoriya. The kid with the green hair.' Jiro said, pointing with her ear jack.

Ochaco turned. Way down in the corner of the cafeteria mess hall was the support class table. They were all laughing and talking with one another. Ochaco felt a pang of jealousy. She had learned that Midoriya and Bakugo were frenemies, but it seemed like Midoriya was the more mellow of the two. Why couldn't he have been the one in their class?

'You mean the guy from the USJ?' asked Ochaco, 'Do you think he has a chance?'

Jiro nodded, 'When he came across us at the mountain zone he took those villains apart! In the time it took me, Momo and Kaminari to take down three, he had already beaten over a dozen. Isn't that right, Kaminari? Kaminari?' Jiro frowned. The yellow and black-haired boy had stuffed his mouth so full he couldn't speak. Rolling her eyes, she turned back to Ochaco.

'Isn't he quirkless though?' Ochaco asked delicately. Quirk status was a sensitive topic and she didn't want to sound judgemental.

Jiro shrugged. Leaning so she could see down the table, she cupped her hand to her mouth, 'Hey! Ojiro!'

The tall, short haired blonde looked up from his plate. Shifting his tail to his other side, he raised his eyebrows inquiringly.

'What did you make of the green haired guy from the fire zone?' Jiro asked.

'Oh, he's definitely a contender. Why he's in hero support instead of the hero program is beyond me. I bet he could have qualified if he wanted too.'

'See?' Jiro said turning back to her, 'I wonder how many other members of the support class are as powerful as he is?' Jiro ran her hair behind her ear before continuing, 'What worries me is that it's so early in the school year. It's not like we have a training advantage over anyone. All we know is we're good at taking out clunky robots. I don't know about you guys, but up until the USJ incident, I'd never got into a fight with anyone. What if there are people here who aren't necessarily good at fighting robots, but are really good at fighting people?'

'Y-Yeah, but-' Momo started but Jiro kept talking.

'And we have the most to lose too. Maybe Bakugo and Todoroki will be safe, but all of us? I doubt it.' Jiro said twirling her hair around behind her ear.

'That's true, except-' Momo tried to begin again, but Jiro cut her off.

'Plus, after Bakugo's little speech in the hallway, the whole school probably hates us. I wouldn't be surprised if they all co-operate to bring us down.' Jiro said casually as she inspected her fingernails, seemingly oblivious to the worried looks that were being exchanged around her, ‘That’s what I would do if I was stuck in general education. All I’d be thinking about is taking down one of the hero students so I could claim their place.’

She looked over to Momo.

'Oh, sorry for interrupting you. What were you going to say?'

'N-nothing.' Momo said dejectedly.

Ochaco gulped. She couldn't let someone steal her place! Not after she worked so hard. She would need to train more.

* * *

After lunch ended, class 1-H eagerly returned to their homeroom. Thanks to their little brainstorming session, they had all come up with a myriad of tactics and ideas. However, they still needed more information from Power Loader. And so, upon taking their seats they all waited with baited breath for his return.

Entering the room, Power Loader looked around the class cautiously while everyone quietly stared back at him, anticipation clearly written on their faces.

'Alright class, if you would please…ugh.' Power Loader groaned. Upon speaking, everyone's hand had immediately shot into the air.

'Okay. Fine.' he said setting his piece of chalk down by the blackboard, 'But let's make this quick. Chemistry waits for no one.'

Looking around the room, his eyes finally settled on Kiska, 'Yes?' he said pointing.

'What's your policy on missiles?' she asked breathlessly.

'Absolutely not. Yes?' he said, pointing to Hiretsuna.

'Would it be…cheating for us to work together?' she asked tentatively.

Power Loader crossed his arms as he carefully considered the question. Eventually he spoke, 'It would be cheating for you to co-operate in the second event if you were on separate teams. Otherwise, it's all fair game.'

The class grinned at each other. They weren't done for yet. Power Loader looked over at Izuku.

'Midoriya. What is it?'

'What can you tell us _specifically_ about the first event?' he asked.

'The first event is intended to test your stamina. I suppose in many ways it's similar to the practical exam you took, only you'll all be competing together. It becomes quite chaotic as full quirk usage is allowed.'

'We can attack each other?' Izuku asked.

'Not specifically. You're authorized for indirect quirk usage only. Remember, the goal is to win the race, not knock each other out.'

'Can we at least make a fire extinguisher for when we get set aflame?' Saigo said sarcastically. The question was obviously a joke but Power Loader fell silent as he considered it.

'Yes. If you want a fire extinguisher, you can make one.'

Power Loader hesitated as he looked over at Kiska. She had her hand up again and she seemed ready to explode in her seat.

'Yes?' he asked reluctantly.

'Hallucinogenic drugs?' she gasped.

'Counts as a chemical weapon. No.' Power Loader scanned the class for another student. He pointed at Bukimi.

'Can we run through some practice courses here at school? Maybe you could help us prepare…?' Bukimi asked.

'How ever you want to practice is up to you. That said I cannot create any new obstacle courses for you to practice on.' He paused and looked at them all, 'Any _new_ courses, you understand? If you want to make use of some of the training facilities here at school, I can recommend a few that I think may be useful. That said, the best training I think would be to practice your cardio.'

The class groaned and Power Loader shrugged.

'You need to get in shape.' he looked over at Izuku and he felt his spider sense tingle, 'Midoriya, would you be willing to lead the class in some after school exercises?'

'Yeah! Sure! Why not?' Izuku said laughingly in an overly joyous, almost deranged voice.

_No! No! No! NO! Bye-bye sleep! Bye-bye food!_

The class nodded at him appreciatively before turning back to the front.

'Now is there anything else?' Power Loader sighed. Kiska had her hand up again. Slowly he pointed to her.

'Totally non-lethal, non-toxic, environmentally friendly, concussive grenades?' she asked desperately.

Power Loader opened his mouth, but then closed it. Frowning he nodded his head slowly.

'Actually yes, you can have those.'

'Yes!' Kiska cried pumping her fist, before she regained her composure, 'Can they be formatted as a warhead on a missile or shell?' she asked, leaning forward in her desk eagerly.

Dropping his head to his chest, Power Loader opened his helmet slightly and rubbed his forehead.

'Well?' Kiska said excitedly, 'They won't be big.'

* * *

After school, Izuku and the rest of class 1-H worked diligently on some new concepts and designs for the Sports Festival before he led them on a two-hour exercise routine that he mostly just cobbled together from All Might's fitness regime that he remembered from an old cartoon he saw. He must not have screwed up too badly as Power Loader, who was supervising, didn't call him out on his lack of knowledge. Instead all he did was recommend additional exercises for everyone to do in the mornings before class.

It was eight o'clock by the time he finally made it home. After wolfing down his meal, he had another quick nap before heading out again to patrol the slums. He had some questions to ask of an old acquaintance concerning gambling.

Izuku nervously looked over his shoulder as he opened up the phonebooth. Phonebooths were a rarity in this day and age and it had taken him longer than he cared to admit to find a working one. Closing the booth door, he frowned at the flickering florescent light shining above his head. With a flick, he shattered the bulb, plunging the booth into darkness. The last thing he wanted was to be recognized while he was stuck in a box.

Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved the crumpled old card that he had stuffed in his wallet from last year.

"Jack Hammer: discrete cable installation, plumbing expropriator, and professional legal counsel."

He smiled at the memory of Weasel.

_Where would I be now if I never went down that alley?_ He mused as he fumbled in his pocket for some change. After plunking in his money, he dialed the number and held his breath.

'Come on…come on…' he muttered, trying to peer through the dirty glass of the phonebooth. It had been a long time. What if Weasel didn't remember him?

'Yeah?' said a man's voice, barely audible over the sound of a blaring television.

'Uh, Hi! Is this Jack Hammer?' Izuku asked loudly.

'Nope, wrong number.'

'Wait!' Izuku shouted before he could hang up, 'Is this…Weasel?'

He heard the television grow quieter and whoever was on the other end of the phone fumbled around slightly.

'Who's this?' asked the voice suspiciously and Izuku grinned.

'This is Izuku. Remember me? I was the guy who saved you from one of Shocker's guys, Claw?'

'….'

'Uh, it was in an alley, around a year ago? You owed them money. I was barefoot, you offered me a cigarette-'

'Oh. OH! Oh, shit. Yeah, I remember you! Geez, talk about a voice out of the blue. So, what's up?'

'Um, well I was wondering if I could call in that favour you owe me. You see I want to place a bet, but I don't know how…'

'A bet? What kind of bet?' Weasel said, immediately interested.

'You know the UA sports festival?' Izuku said, crouching down as a pair of headlights briefly illuminated his booth.

'Do I know it? Of course, I know it! It has the biggest pot all year! So, what do you fancy? First year? Second year? Third year?'

'Um, well you see the thing is I'm actually participating this year. Yeah, I'm in the first-year tournament so I was planning on placing a bet on myself.'

'Get out of here! Are you serious? Hooolllly Shiiiiieeeet! I can't believe it!'

Izuku held the phone away from his ear as Weasel shouted a mixture of intermittent swears and congratulations at him through the phone. When at last the man had calmed himself, Izuku returned his mouth to the receiver.

'Thanks. So anyway, about that bet…'

'Hey wait a minute.' Weasel interrupted, 'I'm looking up the class rosters and how come I don't see you in class 1-A or 1-B? Are you in general education or something?'

'Uh, no. I'm in support.'

'Support?' he asked. From the tone of his voice Izuku could practically see his frown.

'Yeah, support.'

Izuku heard typing coming from Weasel's end. Twirling the cord of the phone around his finger, he waited mutely for the man to say something.

_You know. I think this is the first corded phone I've ever used before. Weird._

'Okay, I've found you.' Weasel said, 'Says here you're in support. Quirk status is null, special recommendation for fitness, top marks on your entrance exams-'

'Wait, how do you know that?' Izuku asked in surprise.

'Kid, people make their careers off of the Sporting Festival. Everyone is examined with a microscope. According to the house, you’re predicted to drop in the first seed. Eliminated in the first round with odds of thirty-eight to one.'

'Hey, that's pretty good! Er, I mean bad!' Izuku said excitedly, 'What are my chances in the second round?'

'Victory by second round your odds are eighty-eight to one.'

Izuku whistled in amazement, 'Why are they so low?' he asked in a hushed tone.

'Well if I had to guess it's because you've got no quirk so you automatically get flagged and placed into the lowest possibility bracket. A suicide bet in other words. Hell, there's a girl in general education who can grow her fingernails who is rated higher than you.'

'That's crazy!' Izuku said as his mind ran through the possibilities, he had thought his meagre savings wouldn't even come close to reaching a billion yen, but if he were to place concurrent bets…

'Hey Weasel. Could I place one bet, say that I qualify for the second round, then automatically take my winnings and place them on a subsequent bet based on a specific condition? Like say I advance to the tournament?'

'You sure can. That's called "letting it ride". It's a pretty risky strategy though. Casino's love it because you're basically just throwing your money away. Unless, you have some insider knowledge…wait…Holy shit! Holy shit!'

Izuku braced himself as Weasel worked out the details in his mind. After a few moments of mumbled, incorrect arithmetic, Weasel spoke up again. He sounded feverish.

'Kid, listen. This is important. What makes you feel like you've got a shot at making it to the third event?!'

'I-I guess it's because of my physicality and the gear I'll be bringing to the fight. I doubt I can take first place, but if I advanced to the third round, I think I could beat most of the people in class 1-A and 1-B.'

'Do you think you could make it on the podium?'

'Hmm…that's a tough question. I'll need to figure out more about everyone's quirks. There is one student, Shoto Todoroki, who is supposedly really powerful…'

'Yes, Endeavour's son. He's favoured to win.'

'I don't know about that. Katsuki Bakugo is who'd I pick.' Izuku said begrudgingly.

He hadn't met Todoroki yet, but he knew how powerful Bakugo was. As rude as Bakugo might have been in the hallways that morning, he didn't make idle boasts. He was probably going to blitz through the competition.

'Well, look, I don't want to make any rash decisions. How about I call you back after I've done some more research?' Izuku said.

'Alright. Hey Izuku, I've got to know; why'd you come to me with this?'

'Uh, well you're the only gambler I know. Plus, me and you sort of go back a ways. You're…kind of why I'm where I am now.' Izuku said, blushing.

'Ah, that's true! It must have been fate!'

Izuku laughed nervously, 'I mean, I wouldn't go that far!'

'Well look. You do your research, yeah? And I'll pour over the ol' spreadsheet, do some calculations and we'll reconvene later. Deal?'

'S-Sure. Oh, and Weasel? Don't tell anybody about-'

'What are you kidding me?' he shouted incredulously, 'Of course, I'm not going to tell anybody! This is the tip of a lifetime, and I'm not going to let this one slip me by because of my big mouth.'

'Okay, great! Well, I'll call you back later.'

'Alright. Don't leave me hanging, Izuku.'

Izuku hung up and let out a long, breath. Leaning up against the glass, he took a moment to recover. He felt dizzy with excitement. How was he supposed to get any sleep now?


	18. R&D

'Midoriya!'

Izuku jumped up in his desk, blinking blearily, he lifted his head up and directed his attention back to the front of the class. Midnight was staring at him, her eyes narrowed dangerously. 'Were you sleeping in class?' she asked warningly.

'Uh, n-no ma'am! I was just, eh, reviewing my notes!' Izuku said hastily, randomly shuffling the pages in front of him.

'Hmm…'

She glared at him in suspicion for a moment before continuing her lesson, 'Anyway as I was saying, capes may be a good aesthetic choice, but…'

He was able to pay attention for barely a minute before zoning out again. It wasn't that he thought that Midnight's class wasn't worth paying attention to, he just couldn't muster the energy.

Stifling another yawn, he rested his head in his arm as he considered everything else he still had to do today.

_I need to finish up my stun grenades, study for my calculus test tomorrow, remove sentient butterflies from the reactor core…_

Suddenly he found himself standing in a red lit, low ceilinged steel room that was filled with unfamiliar machinery. Alarms were blaring and if the surrounding computer screens were any indication, there was a serious emergency.

'Lieutenant, the chamber is flooded with deadly levels of pollen!' shouted a nearby ruddy faced engineer, We can't possibly-Argh! '

Without warning the command console the engineer had been manning exploded, engulfing the poor bastard in flames. Izuku wasted no time. Grabbing a nearby radiation suit, he quickly pulled it on while the man fell screaming to the floor. There was only one chance for survival. He would need to enter the anti-matter drive himself and pour gravy all over it. Nothing short of total emulsification could stop the winged insect menace now. Readying his ladle, he took a deep breath and began punching in the pass code into the reactor door terminal. Before he could disengage the reactor chamber lockdown however, he was interrupted by the ship's captain.

'Midoriya! Midoriya!' blared the captain through the PA system.

Izuku released the door handle and looked up at the speaker in annoyance. Why couldn't they just let him work in peace? Activating his wrist mounted comm system, he dialed in to the ship's bridge.

'Command, can't this wait? I'm trying to save our sorry asses.' he barked.

'Midoriya, are you paying attention?!'

Izuku jerked upright in his seat. He was back in his classroom. Everyone had turned to look at him as he blinked himself back to wakefulness. Coughing, he straightened his tie amidst the snickers of his classmates before attempting an innocent smile over at the scowling Midnight.

'Erm, yes. Yes, yes. I'm paying attention.' he said, rubbing his eyes.

'Oh, really?' Midnight said, crossing her arms, 'Well then what was I talking about?'

'Uhhhhhhh…' Izuku quickly glanced around the class looking for some hint, several students mouthed the word "wings" at him.

'Wings!' Izuku declared with faux confidence, 'Decorative or functional, they are uh, really difficult to integrate effectively into costumes.'

Time seemed to stop while Midnight regarded him coolly. A few tense seconds later she spoke.

'…Yes. They are.' she said, eyeing him askance before turning back to the class, 'So, wings can be made more functional than capes but oftentimes they require a complete overhaul of a hero's persona…'

He breathed a sigh of relief before slumping back in his desk. That was a close one. A few minutes later the bell rang and he stood and stretched his legs. He would need all his wits about him for the foundational heroic studies class.

* * *

Class 1-H shifted restlessly; their faces drawn as they watched the bank of monitors that filled the wall opposite of them. Each screen alternated between yellow, orange, and white with the occasional flash of black. Every few seconds or so the screens would clear of colour revealing a burnt-out electric yard – its metal equipment twisted and warped by the immense heat. Even though the room was air conditioned, several of the students were sweating profusely.

Beside the silent class, All Might smiled at the screens, scratching his chin thoughtfully. Every so often he would exclaim “Hoo-Hoo!” or “Ahah!” but otherwise he said nothing and the rest of the room was deathly silent.

After a couple minutes, a heavy pneumatic steel door that was built into the wall retracted revealing a raging inferno. Wincing and shielding their faces from the heat, the students retreated away from the open doorway. Stumbling through the flames, an armoured figure ran into the room. As soon as he was clear, the door immediately sealed itself behind him.

'Ha! The hero returns!' called out All Might, ‘There's still a fire behind you, isn't there?'

The figure popped off its helmet revealing Izuku. His face slick with sweat.

'Yeah.' Izuku panted, pausing to wipe some of the sweat out of his eyes, 'After I rescued everyone, I figured there was nothing more I could do.'

The boy was right but All Might wasn't finished with him yet. Was he so certain that he had rescued _everyone_?

'But are you absolutely sure you got _all_ the civilians to safety? Maybe there were a few-' All Might began but the boy, who was still struggling to catch his breath, shook his head.

'No.' Izuku said without hesitation, 'The station is clear.'

'Oh, well. Yes! That is correct.' All Might grinned. He liked the boy's confidence, though he was slightly disappointed that he didn't have the chance to grill him a little. He wanted to put him on the spot, hear what his reasoning was.

'Well done on rescuing the civilians, except what about the fire?' All Might said, pointing with his thumb over at the wall of monitors. They displayed a towering series of capacitors, many of which had burst and were now spewing flames across a gravel covered yard.

'I don't think that the fire is a priority. Let it burn itself out. It's contained.' Izuku rasped.

'There were fire extinguishers and water infrastructure nearby though! Are you really just going to let it burn?'

'Yes.'

'Well then! Explain your reasoning, my boy. Why are you willing to let it all burn down?'

Izuku took a deep breath, 'Because I don't know for certain what the status is of those capacitors. They could still be holding a charge for all I know. If I were to douse them with water, they could explode and kill everybody. It's not worth the risk.' Izuku said. He remembered that particular detail from one of Power Loader's after-action reports.

All Might felt his grin grow a little as he regarded the exhausted boy. He was good. He had chosen to test young Midoriya first to see how he would react in a totally unfamiliar situation and the electrical fire scenario was a useful gauge of a first-year students' ability to rationalize their actions. In truth, Midoriya wasn't supposed to have rescued everybody, but All Might couldn't fault him for his immediate action.

According to Maijima, Midoriya's biggest shortcoming was his reckless nature, but he seemed to be cautious enough as far as environmental dangers were concerned. It was possible that all those after-action reports that Maijima was making him read were sorting him out. Or maybe his problem was that he overestimated himself in combat?

'Correct! Congratulations on passing the test!' All Might shouted, beaming at Izuku.

Izuku raised his arm in triumph before he clumsily spun around and trudged over to a nearby bench.

'Well! Who's next?' All Might said, turning to the rest of the class. They looked at each other apprehensively.

'Come on now, don't be shy. How about…' All Might scanned through the crowd as everyone quickly averted their gaze. There was one boy wasn't quick enough!

'You!' All Might shouted, pointing, 'Young Saigo!'

The boy's face went pale as the class quickly darted away, leaving him alone in the crowd.

'M-m-me?' he said, his voice cracking.

'Yes, you!' All Might boomed, 'You're up my boy, front and centre!'

All Might pressed a button on the control panel, resetting the scenario.

'All right everybody, let's see how young Saigo fares!'

The class looked on in morbid curiosity as the trembling teen walked on stiff legs towards the veritable furnace entrance.

While Saigo said his prayers, All Might glanced behind him. From the corner of his eye, he saw Izuku casually splayed out on the bench, his back leaning against the wall.

_He has the right attitude, the drive, the skill, and intelligence to boot. Maybe I should speak with him…_

Izuku shifted and All Might hastily turned his attention back to the monitors. It seemed as though Saigo was in a spot of trouble as he was now frantically rolling around the yard in flames. His pants had caught on fire. After a moment Saigo was able to recover himself and was now approaching the maintenance shack were a few trapped civilian droids were located. As Saigo pulled the first one out, All Might glanced back over at Izuku.

_I can afford to wait a little longer yet. I should see what he's like outside of the classroom._

* * *

*BANG *BANG *BANG Came the crashing fist on Izuku's gilded chamber door.

'Oh, no!' cried Mitsuki, covering herself with the All Might themed bedroom sheets, 'You can't let them find you, Izu! Quick, before it's too late!'

Frantically, Izuku looked around the room for somewhere to hide, but he was trapped. The walls had become smooth and featureless and he had nowhere left to run to. All he could do was stand uselessly in front of the door.

*BANG *BANG Came the awful sound again as the door started to buckle in.

'WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?' boomed the voice.

Before he could say anything, the door burst wide open and the room was flooded with blinding white light. Suddenly he found himself being sucked down into the white nothingness as he fell through oblivion.

'Hugh!' Izuku grunted as he slid down to the floor.

He opened his eyes and wildly looked around. After a second he recognized his surroundings. He was still in the foundational heroics studies class. Mei was stooped over him, disapproval written across her face.

'Hey! Izuku! Helloooo!' she said loudly, rapping her knuckles across his helmet.

Reluctantly, he stirred.

'I-Is class over? Where's Mitsuki?' he said in a slurring drawl.

'Who?' Mei blurted, before she rolled her eyes, 'You know what, on second thought I don't want to know. Come on, snap out of it! Before All Might notices you!'

She leaned down and shook his shoulders roughly. After shaking him a little she stood back as he pushed himself up against the bench and stood, swaying as he recovered his bearings.

_Just as things were starting to get interesting too._

Glancing around, he saw that most of the class had already filed out of the building.

'Thanks Mei. I owe you one.' he said, giving her a light tap on the arm.

'D-Don't mention it.' she said, rubbing where he’d hit her, 'I can't have my personal trainer getting too much detention, now can I? What's the deal with you today, Izuku? Why can't you stay awake in class?'

'Um, well I've been getting to bed pretty late. I think it's just stress though.' he said as they started walking out of the room.

'Hm, tell me about it. I'm pretty stressed too.'

At that she launched into a long, extremely dull story about her DOTA teammates that she seemed to hate with a burning passion. The pair continued chatted as they walked back to the main UA campus before separating to go to their respective change rooms. Entering the boy's room, he went over to his locker and stripped out of his costume.

'Hey Izuku, after our development period are you going to be at the exercises?' Saigo asked as dressed himself, 'You looked pretty out of it in class today.'

'Yep! I'll be there.' Izuku said, ‘I’ve gotta keep in shape too, y’know?’

From over his shoulder he heard a locker door slam shut with a bang. Turning, he saw Moyashi snatch up his backpack from the floor and begin marching away.

Izuku hesitated. While everyone was busily preparing themselves for the Sports Festival, Moyashi was acting totally indifferent. What's more he seemed to be uncaring about his classes in general. During All Might's exercise he had hardly seemed to be trying.

_Should I talk to him? I don't want to be a busy body, but don't we all have a responsibility to help each other out?_

Before he could make up his mind though, Moyashi had already left.

* * *

Hours passed and the end of school bell rang; flooding the hallways with students eager to get home or hang out with friends. However, Class 1-H wasn’t among them. They were hard at work in the development studio; scrambling to cobble together some piece of gear that would hopefully give them an edge in the Sports Festival. Amongst the flurry of activity, Izuku was set up at his workstation with an elaborate chemistry glassworks, trying his best not to blow himself up.

Currently he was synthesizing the volatile phosphorous-nitrate mixture that comprised the explosive in his stun grenades. Prior to this the most experience Izuku had with mixing chemicals was dismantling meth labs and using food dye to change the colour of the icing on the cake for his eleventh birthday.

Beside him Moyashi occasionally glanced up from his binder to check on him.

‘Still got steady hands, Izuku? They look preeeetty clammy to me.’ he said dryly.

‘I-I-I th-think I’m good.’ Izuku muttered back.

His apprehension was understandable. However, that wasn't why he was so jumpy. If someone were to take a closer look at what he was doing, they would notice that there was actually a secondary compound being formed. Three to be more precise.

Today, he had finally worked up the nerve to create his web solution. Hidden in plain sight amidst the tubes and flasks that crisscrossed his workstation, a pair of beakers were slowly filling. Separate their contents were inert, but when mixed they would form a highly elastic and viscous compound tough enough to restrain even the strongest of villains.

 _Just a little longer._ Izuku thought. To his relief the beakers were almost full.

He glanced up to see where Power Loader was. Across the room he was was in the middle of an argument with Kiska about corrosive weapons ("You said no acid guns, this is a base gun!"). Hopefully she could delay him just a little longer. In a few minutes his web solution would be finished and this ordeal would be over.

Suddenly he felt his spider sense tingling. Looking over he saw that Power Loader had finished raining on Kiska’s parade and was now wandering his way. Izuku gritted his teeth. Power Loader had already inspected his glassworks to make sure he had everything set up correctly but that was before he added the infrastructure necessary to synthesize his web formula. If he got too close, he would realize something was up for sure.

_I need to draw him away somehow! Think, Izuku, think! Maybe if I-_

'Hey Mr. Maijima, check it out!' Mei called out loudly, 'Extendable crab clawed gloves! Perfect for long distance pinching or snipping! You could cut through steel with this baby!'

Power Loader stopped, 'Miss Hatsume, I thought we talked about lethal weapons?'

'Hey! Just because it _can_ cut off someone's head, doesn't mean I will!' she said waving the wicked looking gauntlet around carelessly causing the students around her to duck, 'Come on, they're just so cool!'

With a sigh, Power Loader moved over to inspect her latest creation and Izuku could breathe again.

_My formula should be finished by now. I should extract it while everyone is still busy._

He carefully inserted a tube into both of the beakers and they started to slowly drip drain into the two thermoses that he had concealed in his backpack. Once he confirmed that it was draining correctly, he carefully covered up the tubes of red and blue fluid with his school jacket.

_Once all is said and done, I should have a full two litres of unmixed web formula. That should last me for a couple of months at least._

Dusting off his hands in satisfaction, he prepared to get back to work on his grenades when he noticed that Moyashi hadn’t even touched his tools and his heart sank. Rather than build anything, Moyashi seemed to just be thumbing through his regular school work.

_I guess he really has given up…_

Before he could muster the nerve to say something, Power Loader suddenly called out, 'All right everyone. It's almost six o'clock. You should all start cleaning up your workstations.'

Keeping one eye on his chemicals, Izuku began putting away his tools. As he was cleaning up, Bukimi came up to him.

'Hey, Izuku are we going to run through another obstacle course today?' he asked as Izuku clamped in his vice set.

'Yeah, I was thinking…'

From the corner of his eye he spotted Moyashi. He was walking over to the exit, hands thrown in his pockets.

_Screw it. I need to get over myself and just talk to him._

'Actually Bukimi maybe we'll all decide what to do once we get over to the practice track, yeah?'

'Okay, I'll see you there.'

Disconnecting the now empty beakers from the tubes, he disposed of the contaminated plastic before hastily packing up the rest of his things. Once everything was put away, he took off looking for Moyashi.

* * *

Running through the front doors of the school, Izuku kept his eyes and ears peeled. Class had long since ended for the rest of school and the grounds were deserted. Taking off down the front steps, he didn't have to run far before spotting Moyashi heading for the school gates. Increasing his pace, he sprinted to close the distance between them. Just as Moyashi was about to reach the gates, Izuku shouted out.

'Moyashi!' the boy turned and looked back at him, 'Wait up!'

Thermoses clattering together in his backpack as he ran, Izuku swiftly caught up.

'What's up?' Moyashi asked.

'Hey Moyashi I was hoping you'd join us for our fitness meeting.' Izuku said, shouldering his backpack, 'Everyone's going to be there.'

'Oh.' he said flatly. 'No thanks. I'll pass.'

'Why not?' Izuku said falling in step beside him.

'Why should I?' Moyashi shot back, a hint of anger in his voice and Izuku steeled himself, 'I can't! My body can't. There's no point.'

Izuku kept up beside him as he walked.

'Well you know, I've been thinking. We don't have to run. We could go swimming instead and-'

Moyashi stopped and turned to face him. Izuku could see his face was turning red, though whether from shame or anger he couldn't tell.

'Izuku, look. I know what you're trying to do. But it's pointless. This whole support thing is pointless. I can't keep up with the rest of you, literally! In All Might's class I couldn't even rescue a single person. Not one!' Taking a great shuddering breath, he turned away, 'I'm going to request a transfer to general education. I was stupid for even trying for the hero courses.' he mumbled.

Before he could take another step, Izuku shouted out at him.

'Wait!' he said perhaps a bit more forcefully then he intended as Moyashi jumped a little and looked back at him startled.

Izuku took a deep breath. Convincing Moyashi would take every ounce of his charisma.

'Wait.' Izuku repeated softer, 'Just…hear me out, okay? When I decided to attend UA, everybody told me to give up. They said I would never make it, that I was just wasting my time, that I was being unrealistic and why? Because I was born without a quirk. But you know what? I didn't give up my dream, instead I trained and I worked at it, until I was good enough to come here, same as you.'

 _Oh really? Is that how it happened? How inspiring._ said a small voice in the back of his mind, but he pressed on.

'I can't give up now either. Because like it or not, I'm a role model to quirkless people. If I succeed in the Sports Festival then maybe I'll inspire some other quirkless people to be the best they can be too. To not give up.'

'Izuku, I-' Moyashi started but Izuku cut him off.

'Me and you are the same Moyashi! Don't you see that if you give up now, then some other person with asthma or something won't have anyone to look up too? Nowadays everyone is judged by their quirk. By their body's abilities. It's up to people like you and me to show everyone that there is more to success then what you're born with! We earned our right to be here and we have a responsibility to inspire people who think they don't have a chance!'

Izuku took a deep breath before speaking again.

So, are you just going to give up? Or do you want to put in the effort and be a hero?'

Moyashi looked at him intently before looking away to wipe his face. After a moment he turned back to Izuku.

'That was some speech Izuku. Alright, fine. You win. I'll come.'

Izuku broke out into a broad, relieved grin and he laughed.

'Awesome! I promise you won't regret it.' he said and the two boys turned away from the exit gates and started off towards the distant practice courses.

As they walked Izuku looked over his shoulder to one of the windows. A tall, thin blonde man was watching them. Upon seeing Izuku looking at him the man quickly backed away into the unseen recesses of the room beyond. Izuku shrugged.

_Whoever that guy was I guess it doesn't matter._

Pushing the blonde man out his mind, he resumed his conversation with Moyashi about how he could help him exercise.

* * *

Later that night, Izuku listened patiently in the darkened phonebooth while Weasel recounted his day. He’d been spending his time visiting every gambling spot in the city to see where they could place their bets. Most the bookies in the city wanted him dead, but he had been able to find a handful of oddly named characters who were still willing to take his money.

'So, anyway I went down to Double Dice and he said he'll take us on, but he's not offering an even spread between you making it to the third event and you walking up the podium. Still we make fifteen million off of him if you make it to the third event and over sixty if you make it to the podium.'

'Hm, okay.' Izuku said as he added up their imaginary winnings, 'That should put us at three billion, four hundred and thirty-three million, two hundred and seventy-one thousand, three hundred and sixty If I come in third place or higher.'

'Er, yeah! And even if you just manage to clear the second event you'll still make…uh…'

'One billion, twelve million, eight hundred and forty-two thousand, five hundred twelve.'

'Right!' Weasel exclaimed. Izuku swore he could hear the man drooling, 'So, what are you going to buy with your share?'

'There's someone I know who needs help.' Izuku replied, 'What about you?'

'I'm going to buy a mansion, a boat, a summer home aaaaaand a gold car too.' Weasel said eagerly.

Izuku laughed. Their winnings wouldn't amount to _that_ much, but it was a fun fantasy anyway.

'What do you think about your competition?' Weasel asked, 'Is there anybody who you think will be trouble?'

'Yeah, there's this girl with vines for hair and these two guys who can make themselves extremely hard. Um… as in physically hard. Like, it's hard to puncture their skin. I don't mean-'

'Yeah, yeah. I get it.' Weasel said laughing again, 'What about Fumikage Tokoyami? I heard he's really powerful too.'

'No, I think I can take him on.' Izuku said confidently, 'I'm more worried about the people who can take a punch rather than the glass cannons. Well, except for Todoroki that is.'

'I'm sure you can think of something, Izuku. You're a genius!'

Izuku smiled smugly before he froze, a cold sweat breaking out over his body. He had completely forgotten about his literature assignment.

'Um, well anyway I've got to go. I'll see you tomorrow okay?' Izuku said, nervously shifting his weight from foot to foot.

'Alright, you got it. We're meeting up at seven o'clock in the bathroom of the King's Street Subway station, right?'

'Yep. I'll be there with the money.' Izuku said.

'Okay, see you then. Bye.'

* * *

The following morning, Izuku and Mei walked into the development studio together after their detention. The room was already getting loud with the sound of power tools as everyone was ramping up for another frenzied day of building.

From the corner of his eye Izuku saw Kiska looking glum in front of a massive pile of scrap parts, servos, and random machinery. She was staring at a blank blueprint, mouthing some words to herself while she concentrated.

Altering course, he walked over.

'Hey, Kiska. What's up?' he asked. She turned to him.

'Hm? Oh, I'm just wondering what I should build next. Or, try to build anyway. Mr. Majima keeps shooting down my ideas, but-' she took a deep breath and forced a smile, 'I'm sure I'll think of something.'

'Oh.' Izuku was silent for a moment, 'Say Kiska, I was wondering…'

'Yes?'

'Have you ever heard of dry water?'

'Um, maybe. Remind me, what was it again?'

Kiska listened blankly while he told her. At first, she was confused as to what he was getting at, but when he suggested that aerosols weren't explicitly banned, and that dry water's open-ended chemistry could be paired with other useful compounds, she began to get more and more excited.

Once Izuku left her, she quickly rushed over to Power Loader. He seemed apprehensive as she rapidly told him about her new weapon system, but slowly he became more receptive and considered her idea for a new weapon. Eventually, he gave his consent.

Skipping away from Power Loader's desk, Kiska gave Izuku a thumb's up before bending over to work on her new design.

 _That ought to take care of a few problems._ Izuku thought, grinning evilly to himself as he watched Kiska's hands fly across her blueprint.

* * *

That evening, Izuku climbed out of the school pool and toweled himself down. It was almost time for his meeting with Weasel and he didn't want to risk being late.

'Hey, you guys.' he called out to his classmates, 'I've got to leave early today. I'll see you all tomorrow, all right?'

A few of his classmates acknowledged him and after waving goodbye, he set off for the changing room. After showering himself down, he went towards the UA exit. It was as picturesque a late spring evening as you could ask for. But despite the cheery golden glow the setting sun was casting on the beautiful campus buildings around him, he felt too anxious to take any pictures. His entire life savings were in his backpack after all.

_The sooner this is done with the better._

Exiting the UA gatehouse, he walked out into the street. One of the advantages of getting to school so early and leaving so late was he never had to worry about having to fight his way through the press.

He barely made it a block from the school before he felt his spider sense flare up. Somebody was following him. Feigning a yawn, he lithely stretched. Twisting himself around, he checked behind him. To his surprise, he saw the same thin blond man that he had seen watching him and Moyashi from the windows yesterday. As soon as Izuku laid his eyes on him, the blonde man hastily looked over at a nearby stack of magazines and began clumsily thumbing through them.

Izuku kept his expression neutral as he turned back around and started walking again. Internally however he went on full alert as his mind filled with a hundred different questions.

_Who is this guy? He must work at UA but he's definitely not a teacher. Is he a truancy officer or something? Did the school figure out I was stealing and they're following me now? Oh, God. Whoever he is, he can't follow me to King's Street. I need to lose him!_

Keeping his pace casual, Izuku continued down the street before abruptly pivoting and walking into an alley. As soon as he was no longer visible from the sidewalk, he took off running.

 _Let's see him follow me now!_ He thought determinedly as he flipped around a dumpster and jumped over a fire escape to a neighbouring alleyway.

* * *

_Damn. I think he saw me_. Toshinori thought as he lowered the magazine he was holding. Thankfully Midoriya had started walking again but now he had to be doubly careful.

_I can't let him spot me again. If he does he'll get overly suspicious and-_

Suddenly Midoriya disappeared into an alleyway. Toshinori sighed. Was he just taking a shortcut that he knew, or did he think he was being followed? Either way, he couldn't afford to lose him. Before he merely had a good feeling about the boy but after hearing him talk about personal responsibility and setting an example, his interest was piqued. Izuku Midoriya seemed like a perfect candidate to inherit the power of All for One. He just had to find the right opportunity to speak with him and learn more about him.

Coming up on the alley, he carefully peered inside but it was deserted. Puzzled, he entered. Walking down the narrow alley he stopped in front of a tall, brick wall. A dead end. He looked behind him but saw nothing.

_The only way he could have gotten past me is if he jumped the wall, went into one of these buildings, or he climbed up a fire escape._

He considered his options. The wall was too high and the doors and windows were sealed with locked steel shutters. He must have gone up the fire escape.

He flexed. In an instant he was transformed from the weak, frail body of Toshinori Yagi and into the hulking, muscular champion of peace. With a light jump, he practically flew up to the top of the building.

 _Where oh where, is Mr. Midoriya?_ All Might thought as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop, scanning the streets and alleys below.

Izuku slowed down his pace to a brisk walk. He couldn't keep running for long or he would destroy his sneakers. He couldn't even imagine what Weasel would think if he met him shoeless again.

Izuku grinned to himself at the thought before he felt his anxiety rise up again and his smile quickly disappeared. He still had no clue who the man following him was or what he wanted.

_Maybe the school found out that I plan on gambling and they want to search my backpack to see if I have a bunch of money on me! Maybe there is a swarm of teachers waiting for me at King's Street Station!_

He felt his hands start to sweat. Imagine, if after all his talk about working together and setting a good example he was caught trying to profit off of everyone's efforts. The very thought made him nauseous.

_I should call this whole thing off right now…But I do need the money. It's only a matter of time before the League of Villains strikes again._

As he passed by a bustling café, he felt his spider sense go haywire again. Someone was watching him from the rooftop across the street! Entering the restaurant, he acted like he was looking for someone before exiting. As he walked out, he studied the blocky silhouette of roofs. As he gazed over at a large AC unit, he saw a shadow flicker back just out of his sight.

_How did he…_

Izuku checked the time. He needed to be at King's Street Station in ten minutes. Putting away his phone, he netted his fingers and stretched himself out. Once he was limbered up, he tightened his backpack strap and cracked his knuckles. It was time to get serious.

* * *

All Might pressed himself against the chattering AC unit and waited.

_Did he spot me? No, he couldn't have. I was only exposed for a second!_

Suddenly All Might noticed his giant shadow and he slapped his forehead in frustration. It was a rookie mistake. _Always put your shadow behind you!_ Crouching down, he attempted to minimize his profile but he suspected the damage was already done.

His fears were confirmed when he took another peek around the corner. Midoriya had disappeared again. With a burst of speed, he leapt over the clueless pedestrians beneath him to the other side of the street.

No matter how fast Izuku was, he was still only human. Jumping up high in the air, he quickly scanned the streets below.

_Green hair, school uniform. Green hair, school uniform. Where are you?_

* * *

Izuku came to a running trot as he approached the subway stairs. Climbing up the stairs two at a time, he rushed over to the platform bathroom. His spider sense was calm, but he didn’t want to risk being seen at the last second. Pushing open the bathroom door, he spotted Weasel at the sink.

Turning at the sound of the opening door, Weasel noticed him and grinned.

'Hiya kid. Long time no see!'

Izuku gave him a polite smile before quickly checking around the bathroom. His heightened senses told him they were alone. Wasting no time, he zipped open his backpack and pulled out an envelope full of cash.

'Here.' he said handing him the unmarked envelope, 'I'm light by about two thousand, is that cool?'

'What? Two thousand? Yeah man. Don't sweat it.'

'Thanks.' Izuku said before he straightened his itchy new shirt. During the chase, he had bought a cheap change of clothes and hat at a retail store before heading over. Seeing as how his pursuer could keep up with him, he had figured it was better to hide in the crowds.

'Well look kid, I'd offer to buy you a coffee but we'd better hold off on celebrating until after this business is finished with, y'know?'

Izuku quickly nodded. He had no more desire to stay and tempt fate then Weasel did. If either of them were seen together it would only raise troubling questions.

'All right, I'll see you later.'

* * *

Toshinori silently fumed to himself. Despite his best efforts, Midoriya had somehow managed to give him the slip for long enough that he lost his ability to transform. All he could do now was sit and wait outside Midoriya's home address for him to come home.

_I can't talk to him now. Without my ability to transform, he'd think I was a stalking madman and call the police or something. What an embarrassment I am!_

Before long, he saw a lone, teenage boy with a backpack walking down the sidewalk. He was the right height and build but he was wearing totally different clothes!

 _He must have changed somewhere!_ All Might thought incredulously. _When did he pull that off?_

As Midoriya walked over to his apartment building, Toshinori could have sworn that he saw him glance his way. Despite himself, he shivered as Midoriya disappeared into his apartment building.

_That was eerie. Why is a seemingly innocent boy like him going to such lengths to avoid being followed? What could he be hiding?_

Suddenly a horrible idea entered his mind. They never did track down who had broken into UA. Why didn't he think of it sooner? What if the infiltrator at UA, the one who had stolen the class schedule and disabled the security system allowing the League of Villains to attack, was Izuku Midoriya!

He had been present at the USJ after all and his activities were suspicious to say the least. All Might sighed. He couldn't be sure of anything yet, but he couldn't reveal the secret of One for All to anyone that he wasn't one hundred percent convinced was trustworthy.

Turning, he pulled out his phone and called for a cab. Looks like the search for a successor wasn't over yet.


	19. Airborne

The students of class 1-H hurried here and there about the development studio as they put the finishing touches on their gear. Grinding and hammering out flaws, the various mechanized harnesses and suits were being noisily finished by their frantic creators. Standing among his frenzied peers, Izuku smiled contentedly as he inspected his own arsenal. He had stun grenades aplenty as well as a few more exotic munitions including flares and a large satchel bomb that he had filled with common baking soda.

_Besides Bakugo and Todoroki, I think I have an answer for almost everyone._

On the way to her bench, Kiska passed by.

'Hey Izuku, you look pleased with yourself.' she said loudly over the racket. 

He grinned and gestured to his table full of weaponry.

'Check it out! Pretty sweet, no?'

She merely hummed, 'Not bad, not bad, but it's got nothing on mine.' she pointed over to a massive pile of what he had originally assumed was scrap and spare parts.

'What?!' he exclaimed, walking around his table, 'Is all that yours? How are you going to carry it all?'

'I'm not going to carry it, I'm going to wear it silly! That's my hero costume!' Kiska said, obviously pleased with the reaction her costume was getting. Izuku was shocked. It seemed as though every inch of her once modest power harness was covered in weaponry.

'What's that thing?' he asked, pointing to a jagged metal shard mounted on a pole.

'Uh, that's a spear. I originally wanted a ballista, but Mr. Maijima said it was technically a crossbow and was against the rules.' she said sourly, 'But I didn't want to waste the parts so I just strapped the spikey bits on anyway.'

Izuku was stunned. While she wasn't the most talented engineer, what she lacked in know-how she made up for in an appreciation for firepower.

_I'm starting to realize why there are so many rules in this tournament!_

Suddenly he had an idea. Looking around for Power Loader, he spotted his teacher at Bukimi's table, busily inspecting his restraining tape launcher.

'Excuse me, Mr. Maijima?'

Power Loader looked up from the launcher in his arms.

'Yes, how may I help you?'

'Can I make a melee weapon?'

Power Loader hesitated, 'That depends. What did you have in mind?'

'I was going to make a nightstick.'

'Oh.' Power Loader breathed. He was probably relieved that he didn't say he wanted a battle axe or something, 'Yes of course. Do you know how to use one?'

'Not really no, but I figure it's better than nothing, right?'

'True. Okay, it shouldn't take you long to make one. I'll inspect it once you're finished.'

With a nod, Izuku went back to his desk and sketched out a rudimentary cudgel. He had been looking for something to let him hit harder in case he encountered one of the hero class students who had enhanced durability, and a bludgeon was as good an answer as any other.

_A nice and heavy club would be a perfect weapon to take those guys on. Let's see, a lead core inside a hardened steel tube should do the trick. Simple!_

Walking over to the lathe, he got to work. Less than an hour later, he hefted his new bludgeoning stick. Placing it on the scale, it came in at twelve kilograms.

_There should be a lot of force behind this even if I hit with my "normal person" strength._

Izuku put up his hand and flagged Power Loader over.

'Here it is.' he said holding it out for him, 'What do you think?'

Power Loader took it and rolled it over in his hands.

'It seems very solid. Nice and sturdy, but it's heavy. You'll be unbalanced if you swing this. Do you really need it to weigh so much?'

Izuku nodded, 'I want to have a way to fight against someone with the hardening quirk. I doubt they would even feel my hits otherwise.'

'Very well.' Power Loader said, returning the club. He raised an eyebrow as he took in the rest of his gear that covered his workspace, 'I see you have your arsenal prepared. Carry on, Midoriya.'

'Thank you, Mr. Maijima.' he replied happily.

After setting his new nightstick down beside his other weapons, Izuku turned to his pile of scraps. He’d been accumulating a decent amount of high quality odds and ends; a veritable treasure trove of salvage.

_I think I have all the school gear I need for the Sports Festival. Now I think its finally time to finish off my web-shooters._

* * *

Waving goodbye, Izuku parted ways with his classmates and started off towards the subway station. It was Thursday night and he had big plans for the weekend. Smuggled away in his backpack were the two miniature compression chambers that he needed to complete his web-shooters.

Using the parts he had been "scavenging" and "recycling" from the development studio over the past week and a half, he had been steadily building his web-shooters piece by piece in his room back home. Getting the parts wasn't difficult, but assembling the damn things without any tools sure was.

However, after many frustrating hours, he had the final parts he needed. All he had to do was get home. As he walked, he passed a bar that was plastered with posters advertising for drink specials during the upcoming Sports Festival.

"This Monday enjoy beer for two hundred and fifty yen alongside bottomless wings for just five hundred yen. Live Sports Festival coverage!"

The posters caused him to feel a flutter of nerves in his stomach. Everyone in the country was going to be watching the games and if he had his way, he was going to be quite famous soon. The first "quirkless" hero, and the first one on the podium to boot.

_I hope I don't have any reporters chasing me down. I can barely manage with just one stalker._

At that moment he felt his spider sense buzz. Sure enough, it was the thin blonde man again, casually ambling down the sidewalk with his squeaky shoes. Over the past few days he’d become so tuned in to their sound that he could pick them up from a block away. Izuku had searched through the school website and asked his classmates, but no one had seen anyone matching the thin man's description. Whoever this guy was, he wasn't a teacher at the school, but he had to work at UA. He wouldn't be able to get past the security system at the gate if he didn't.

A few times he had been tempted to just confront the man and ask him what he was doing, but he decided against it. If he was being investigated for suspicious activity, he didn't want to make his situation any worse by getting in his face. There was no point in avoiding him either. The man obviously already knew where he lived. So Izuku found himself in an awkward stalemate. All he could do was wait.

After arriving home, he spent the night carefully slotting in the remaining parts. It was early morning by the time he was finished his work. Hefting the wrist mounted system, he looked on in pride at his creation. The duel web-shooters strapped neatly on to his forearms just above the wrist under his costume. Only a small nozzle was visible near his palm, otherwise the shooters were completely concealed. He could have made them larger with a higher fluid capacity and added range, but he decided against it. He wanted his opponents to believe that his webs were his quirk and be thrown off balance by his other abilities rather than just a piece of gear.

Izuku gazed out the window longingly, but he restrained himself. Though he was dying to test out his invention, he knew that it would be foolish to take them out so close to sunrise.

_I should really get some sleep anyhow. The Sports Festival is on Monday and I need to be in top form for the events._

Reluctantly he stashed his web-shooters away with his costume before climbing into bed. Within a minute he was drifting away to sleep.

* * *

Later that morning as he walked through school, he noticed that the halls were abuzz with excitement and the air was fraught with tension. Clusters of students stood whispering and speculation abounded about who was going to advance to the end of the tournament. Every time a member of class 1-A or B passed by in the hall they were subjected to apprising looks as everyone considered their chances.

During lunch while the other tables shot jealous looks at the hero class tables, the support table was engrossed in deep conversation about their strategy.

'What do you guys think about the girl with the vines for hair, Shiozaki? Without fire or chemicals, she seems like she'll be pretty hard to beat' Saigo said in a low voice.

Everyone turned around and peered over at class 1-B. It didn't take Shiozaki long to notice the table full of serious faces studying her. She blanched and shifted nervously before the support class huddled back together again.

'Seems like a job for my crab gauntlet!' Mei whispered loudly, 'I'm telling you, it can cut through grass, shrubs, and pesky weeds no problem!'

'Save it, Mei. We're not on television yet.' Kiska said, rolling her eyes.

'How do you guys feel about Momo? She's basically a walking 3-D printer. Apparently, she can build almost anything she wants on the fly.' Izuku said.

'Talk about a dream quirk.' Saigo said wistfully, 'She's pretty much superior to us in every way.'

'She may be able to build anything she wants, but she can't create anything against the rules.' Hiretsuna reasoned, 'And what's more, we have the advantage of our quirks. M-Most of us anyway.' she looked over at Izuku, 'How would you fight her, Midoriya?'

Izuku was silent for a moment as he thought back to the USJ incident. She seemed to be a determined and physically strong fighter, but not particularly dominant like someone with enhanced strength would be.

'I know she likes fighting in close quarters with melee weapons, which is good news for me as it'll come down to my fists versus whatever she makes for herself. I think I can take her.'

'I wish I had your confidence.' Bukimi said, grinning.

'At the end of the day no matter how much we strategize it's all just speculation.' Izuku noted, looking over at Bakugo. He seemed completely at ease despite the obvious pressure in the air, 'There are a few people who I just can't see a way of beating.'

Izuku turned back to his table and saw that everyone was now looking significantly less confident. The upbeat attitude from seconds ago had evaporated.

'Way to bring down the mood, Izuku.' Kiska said glumly.

'Yeah. When it comes to fighting ability, I think class A and B have got us beat handily.' Saigo added with resignation, 'But I never planned on winning the tournament anyway. I just want to make it to the third round and get my face on TV.'

'Me too!' Mei chirped, 'I don't know why you guys care really. It's not like we can get scouted by hero agencies. It's design studios you should try and impress.'

'I thought you wanted to open your own studio?' Izuku asked.

'Of course I do! But I need to start somewhere, and what better way to get my name out there than to have my gorgeous face next to my babies on every television in the country!'

'But then, why don't you want to win? You'd be way more famous.'

She sighed. Setting down her spoon, she gave him a condescending look like she was dealing with a five-year-old. 'Not all publicity is good publicity. If you win, it's not because you had the best tech - the rules of the tournament make that abundantly clear - No, its because you're a fighter. And having the reputation of a fighter is not good for business.'

Izuku rubbed his chin, and thought this over.

'You'll see.' Mei said, returning to her meal, 'The Sports Festival is important, but we don't need to win to win.'

The support class spent the rest of their lunch period mulling over Mei's words. Much to his chagrin, Izuku found that her argument made perfect sense, but for different reasons entirely. Did he really need to try so hard?

* * *

Toshinori looked up from his work and peered over at the clock on the wall. Midoriya and his band of fellow 1-H students would be finishing up at the obstacle courses right about. Within a few minutes they’d be passing through the school gate on their way home. He made to rise from his chair, but then stopped himself.

_What am I doing?_

For the last few days he had been following young Midoriya every moment he could spare, searching for a sign that something was amiss but he had found nothing. His every instinct told him that Izuku was not a villain. From the way he carried himself, to how he interacted with his friends, to the elements of his past that he was able to dig up. Everything suggested that Midoriya was just another student, trying his hardest to become a hero and be a credit to society.

However, despite everything that he had learned about Midoriya's upstanding moral character, he still suspected that the boy was hiding something. The USJ incident, his performance in class, his escape in the alley, it all seemed a little too fantastical for someone with no quirk.

However, there was no evidence to support his suspicions. Midoriya didn’t just show up out of the blue to be accepted into UA. He had been registered as quirkless from a young age and had an extensive medical record to back up his claim. It seemed as though young Midoriya had went to specialist after specialist over the years, no doubt desperately holding on to the hope that he was a late bloomer whose quirk was yet to manifest, but it never did. It was all too common a story these days for those unfortunate few who were born without any powers.

By all accounts, Midoriya was quirkless. However, just because he was quirkless once didn’t mean he couldn’t have been _given_ a quirk by a certain third party. One of the tidbits that Toshinori had been able to dig up about Midoriya was that he had always – _always_ – wanted to go to UA to become a pro hero. For a young boy with talent, ambition, and intelligence like Midoriya to be denied his life’s goal because he was born without a quirk was unspeakably cruel. No doubt the injustice gnawed at him; made him angry; who wouldn’t be?

He was willing to bet that Midoriya would do anything to get accepted to UA. Maybe even be willing to cut a deal in exchange for his service…

He let out a haggard sigh and rubbed his eyes. This was exactly the sort of twisted scheme All for One would think up. To take a promising youth and corrupt them; use their hopelessness as a means to gain a loyal slave who’d do anything for him; he’d seen it all before.

'Working late?'

Toshinori stirred. He hadn’t noticed that Maijima had entered the staff offices.

'Y-Yes I suppose I am.' Toshinori said, 'Were you just supervising class 1-H?'

'Yes, they requested a run of the long-distance obstacle course in preparation for the Festival.' Maijima said, smiling slightly. Toshinori didn't know the support department instructor very well, but he recognized the rare gesture.

'How are they looking?' Toshinori asked Maijima as the man grabbed his keys and coat from his desk.

'Very well, I think. I have a good feeling about this group. I can't recall the last time I had a class this fired up. I wouldn't be surprised if a few made it to the third round of events.'

'Hm. Congratulations. I've noticed how hard they've been working, they deserve it.'

Maijima nodded his head in acknowledgment. Gathering the rest of his things, he began to walk over to the exit. Toshinori hesitated as he watched him leave. He wanted to ask him about Midoriya, but he thought better of it. Principal Nezu had informed the staff earlier that Thirteen had regained consciousness yesterday and he didn't want to hold Maijima up.

Instead, he turned to the stack of papers that was on his desk. He wasn't going to learn anything more from chasing around Midoriya. Besides, he still had his duties as a teacher. With a sigh he pulled out his marking pen and got back to work.

* * *

That night at dinner, Izuku endlessly twirled his spaghetti on his fork while his mother chattered away about the upcoming Sports Festival. There would be reviews, interviews, internships, posters, and banners (not that the participants would ever get a whiff of money for their efforts though). Normally he would have joined in the conversation, he was excited too, but he couldn't stop thinking about the man who had been following him. For the last few days the blonde man had tailed him from school and back to his apartment without fail, but today he didn't sense his presence at all and that worried him greatly.

_Did he find what he was looking for or not? What if I couldn't notice him? Maybe I'm being watched right now and my spider senses can't even detect it?_

Izuku pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed his eyes. It never seemed to end.

_I bet I'm just overthinking things. My spider sense has never been wrong before, so why worry unnecessarily? Chill out, Deku!_

His mother must have noticed something was wrong as she interrupted herself, a concerned look on her face.

'Izuku, are you feeling okay?' she asked.

'Hm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I'm just tired from my exercises that's all.' Izuku said, doing his best to sound carefree but his mother looked at him critically regardless.

'What you need is a good night's sleep.' she admonished gently, 'What are you planning on doing this weekend, Izu?'

'I don't have anything planned.' he said as he pushed back his plate, 'I'm all caught up on my homework. I was thinking I'd just take it easy until the festival.'

She nodded, 'Yes, you should take some time for yourself, you've been working so hard that it seems like you never leave your room.' she frowned at him with concern before clasping her hands together and standing. 'I know. You should go see a movie with your new friends, get to know them.' she said as she cleared her and his plate.

'I guess I could call some people and see what's going on.' he said thoughtfully.

_Assuming they'd be willing to buy. I'm flat broke!_

'Good' she said, "Here, help me with the dishes.'

He obediently went over to the sink and started running the water. As the sink filled, he considered what he could do with his spare time.

After washing the dishes, Izuku went back into his room and sat down at his computer. Of course, the blonde man wasn't the only reason he felt anxious. Tonight, he would finally test out his web-shooters.

Even though he had come up with the designs for his web-shooters and web formula a mere month ago, it felt like an eternity had passed since he got inspired from the spider in his window. So much had happened since then.

Izuku flicked his gaze outside. The web was still there, framed by the slowly setting sun into fine golden lines against a deep purple sky. Rolling clouds were tumbling over the horizon from the distant Pacific, humbling the steel and glass spires below. It was quite picturesque actually.

_I wish I had a better camera than my lousy cell phone. I see some pretty cool stuff sometimes and it would be nice to snap a decent photo every now and then._

As he looked outside, he felt his anxiety build up again as doubts about his invention and the blonde man resurfaced. Shaking his head clear, he turned to his computer, hopeful for some distraction.

Looking up the news, the very first article he saw was a story about the mayoral race. By some miracle the incumbent mayor was managing to hold on in the polls, despite the repeated allegations of sexual misconduct, corruption, and organized crime connections. It seemed as though the deciding votes would come from the low-income districts of the city. He snorted.

_I guess that's why I've been seeing so much of that fat bastard's face plastered everywhere I go in the slums._

He exited out of the news. Politics had become such a mud slinging, shit show that he couldn't stomach much in a single sitting. Twiddling his thumbs, he pondered where he could go next. Nothing sprang to mind so he defaulted to the Hero Board website. Maybe there were more "leaked" photos of Mt. Lady. However, to his dismay, the main page was plastered with posts about Stain. Apparently, he had murdered another "false hero".

To make matters worse it seemed as though the twisted vigilante's popularity had only grown since his last victim. As expected, sheltered, precious little children were rushing out the woodwork to defend their idol. Izuku couldn't help but cringe in embarrassment at some of the comments he was reading. Apparently, the adorably edgy twelve-year olds had really latched on to Stain. Many of them were hailing the mass murderer as the hero that their modern, highly superficial society needed and were actively defending his deeds as being "a true application of justice". As something of a hero dork himself, Izuku had developed a high tolerance for lofty moral philosophising and esoteric suppositions about societies virtues, but this was too much even for him.

With a groan, he backed out of the thread. This wasn't helping him relax. Leaning back in his chair, he kicked his legs up on his desk and looked over at the spider in his window. In a few hours he would either be soaring through the skies, or a red and blue smear on the sidewalk.

* * *

While Izuku was summoning the courage for his web-shooter test, an altogether different experiment was being carried out in the Quirk Research Institute in Tokyo. Beneath the bright lights of a sterile white operating theatre, the Nomu was being examined. Crowded between the sensors, sedative filled IV's, and regenerative repressive neurotoxin, Dr. Akatani and two of his assistants were busily examining the exposed brain of the creature. Above them, seated in the same viewing gallery that Izuku nearly lost consciousness in over a year ago, was a small crowd of scientists. During the first surgical exploration the gallery had been filled to bursting with excited military personnel and grim-faced politicians who were listening with a mixture of awe and fear to their scientist attaché's who bravely attempted to explain the procedure's nuances to their scientifically illiterate charges. However, the glamour of the operations had since worn thin, and now only the truly appreciative remained. Dr. Akatani was in good company.

Humming to himself, Dr. Akatani retrieved his scalpel and bent over the new incision he had just cut through the specimen's skull. As he worked, one of the monitors beeped and his assistant twitched.

'Doctor, we are registering heightened nerve responses. The subject appears to have full sensory awareness! Perhaps we should abort the procedure so we can review our security procedures.'

'I don't believe that will be necessary.' Dr. Akatani said as he gently parsed the thin, membranes of brain tissue apart with his scalpel, 'Suction.'

An assistant held up a small tube and hovered it over the wound, gently vacuumed away a shallow pool of dark blood from the cut. The tube made a brief, grotesque slurping sound as the obstructing fluid was removed before Dr. Akatani went back to his work.

'As suspected the prefrontal cortex is severely underdeveloped. This explains the lack of cognition in the subject and its increased susceptibility to suggestion. Fascinating.'

Before he could continue, one of the monitors connected to the Nomu's chest began to beep loudly.

'Doctor, we are seeing signs of the onset of apnoea. Perhaps we should-'

'Yes. We have gone far enough for now. Reduce the sedative dose sufficiently for regeneration. We will continue the procedure after recovery.'

Dr. Akatani drew back and allowed his assistants access. They had made good progress tonight. The creature's regenerative abilities were proving quite useful in exploring regions of the brain not typically accessible in living subjects. As he laid his tools to rest, he looked into the creature's eyes. Even undergoing traumatic brain surgery, it showed no outward sign of discomfort or pain. He knew it had working nerves and it was conscious but it was little more than a living machine now. Perhaps in time they would uncover how to issue orders. General Mottaiburimashita would be thrilled.

How All Might had managed to defeat a creature like this was beyond him. The combinations of quirks it possessed made it all but undefeatable. It was no understatement that whoever had made the Nomu threatened the very fabric of their society. Still Dr. Akatani couldn't help but feel some measure of satisfaction the more he learned about the Nomu. _His_ formula had created Spider-Man, an intelligent and independent individual who acted with agency; much more than a mere weapon. What was this thing but a living husk? In his eyes, it was a failure.

* * *

The wind whipped through the hastily abandoned streets of the slums, carrying dried trash, election slogans, plastics and street debris in gusty torrents to be deposited in the alcoves and staircases of the weathered apartments. Rusty apertures whistled and rickety old fire escapes rattled loudly as the alleys became diseased microclimates. Stinking, hot beds of garbage were swirled and mixed by the rising air pressure to cast their foulness into the maelstrom above.

Far, far, above the pitching cries of the streets, Izuku stood on one of the browning, perpetually exposed girders of the Grey Towers. He did not know why this building or it's three identical siblings were left half-built, but he could guess. Some financial crisis had struck or a speculative real estate bubble had burst or maybe a housing development scam had surfaced. Renovation was too costly and demolition too controversial, so they were left rotting to the city's homeless. Whatever the case, these four half gutted tenements were the tallest structures in the slums, and consequently the best place to test his web-shooters.

Currently, he was watching with a mixture of trepidation and awe as a storm marched inexorably inland, clearing the streets before it like chaff. Already disaster response teams were mobilizing near the waterfront in preparation for the surge.

'Perfect weather to conduct a life or death test.' Izuku remarked sarcastically to the storm, his words barely audible in the gale.

_You'd think the impending hurricane would have made top billing in the news today, but nope! I gotta know about the election!_

Taking a shuddering breath, he looked down. He remembered his grappling gun test. He hadn't even flinched then. Of course, back in the USJ he didn't have to contend with 120 km/h winds and while he was confident in his own genius, it was far easier to trust in steel lined cable then a hitherto undiscovered elastic compound.

_What if the moment I jump the wind smashes me into a steel girder or something?! This is idiotic! I'll test my web-shooters tomorrow…_

Izuku made to turn away but only managed a half step before he stopped himself. He really did need to test his web-shooters…and so what if it was windy? What if he was fighting somebody who could manipulate the air or something?

With a growl of frustration, he forced himself back to the ledge. Looking across the chasm before him, he focused on the neighbouring Grey Tower and its girder lattice. With a subtle flex of his forearm, a activated the trigger on his web-shooter and a cord of white goo shot from the small nozzle by his wrist. Despite the high wind speeds, the velocity of the strand was sufficient to travel the length between the two street towers and cling to the metal on the other side. As soon as the webbing hit its target, the nozzle immediately clipped the strand, which he than grabbed before it could fly away. Squeezing the webbing in his hand, he rolled the material between his fingers appraisingly. It was thick, elastic, and no doubt extremely sticky. If it weren't for the derivative web solution compound that he had incorporated into the weave of his suit, he doubted he would even be able to separate his fingers from the stuff.

_It seems stable enough. Good consistency. But how's it's strength?_

He gave the strand an experimental flick, causing the taut cordlike web strand to oscillate like an enormous guitar string. As it wiggled to and fro in the wind, he gave the webbing a sharp tug. To his satisfaction his pull was met with sufficient resistance that he was confident it wouldn't snap under his weight. There was only one thing left to do.

With a sharp intake of breath, he jumped.

Diving downward, he held his breath until with an inaudible snap the webbing went taut and his plummet downwards transformed into an arc.

'OooOoooohh Fuuuuck!' he yelled as he started to swing back up.

The webbing was holding firm but as he fell forwards the buffeting winds began to cause him to spin and shear off from where he had intended. He was swinging too far to the left and from the look of things he would wrap around the tower to be grinded against the unfinished concrete façade or sent flying into one of the open concrete windows.

_It's too difficult to control in this weather! I need a smaller strand, something easier to work with!_

As the sharp edge of the building filled his vision, he released the strand of web from his hand and fired a second strand. This time at the corner of the building. Curling his arm, Izuku used his strength to increase his momentum. This sent him swinging far faster than he had anticipated and he zoomed around the corner at a breakneck speed.

'Oh sh-'

Instinctively, he released the thread before he could be sent around the corner and pancaking into the wall. For a brief moment he was soaring. Untethered to anything and at the mercy of the winds.

_This is a lot harder than I thought!_

Even in the midst of the storm his body behaved with the utmost grace and agility. As he was being rocked by the gale, he was able to twist around, aim, and fire his webbing at the tower behind him, and recover. Once again he found himself flying towards the skyscraper however this time he did not panic. Tuning into his spider-sense, he felt that even as he was heading straight towards the concrete wall, he was in no danger. Riding his descent, Izuku's arc carried him straight into one of the open windows of the tower. To his amazement, even in the middle of the storm the room was occupied with a camp of homeless.

'Woops! Don't mind me, just passing through!' Izuku shouted.

As he rocketed into the room, he felt the cord snap against the top lip of the concrete window. Before he could be sent hinging upwards into the ceiling, he released the cord and flew horizontally across the vagrant encampment. As he flew, he blurred past patchwork tents, smoking camp fires, empty laundry lines, and stained cardboard shelters before exiting out on the opposite side of the tower.

_Okay, that wasn't too bad. How about I try to swing from tower to tower?_

Slowly, he felt his confidence return as he practiced swinging and his cries of alarm were gradually transitioned to shouts of giddy excitement. Once he got over the terror, he found himself having more fun than he had ever had in his life. To his immense satisfaction, his web-shooters and web formula worked flawlessly. All he needed to do was refine his technique. With the aid of his spider-sense, he discovered that he always felt when his trajectory would result in a collision or going off course. He still had a lot to learn but already he could feel himself adjusting to the verticality and momentum of web slinging.

* * *

While Izuku twirled, swung, and flipped around the Grey Towers, the windows steadily filled with gawking onlookers as news about the death-defying madman spread between the floors and camps of squatters. Eventually the crumbling balconies were packed as men and women, young and old, gathered to see the infamous Spider-Man dance in the hurricane.

As everyone cheered the daredevil's antics, there was one man who watched in silence. He stood at the back of the hooting crowds - his long dark hair tied behind him with a rag while his face was hidden by a mask. Despite the ragged appearance of his clothes, he was lean and muscled. Few seemed to notice him and those that did quickly averted their gaze.

After a few moments of silent appraisal, the man disappeared into the dark stairwell.


	20. Weekend

Izuku's mother greeted her son with a yawn as she walked into the kitchen. Izuku, who was sitting on the couch watching TV, craned his head around and smiled brightly.

'Good morning.' he said cheerfully, 'That was some storm last night, eh? According to the news the seawall was swamped and the beach front flooded! The mayor declared a state of emergency and they're bringing in additional disaster response heroes.'

'Oh, my.' she croaked hoarsely before clearing her throat, 'A state of emergency you say? Hm, I wonder why he would do that…' she said leadingly.

‘Huh?' he said, tilting his head in confusion, 'What do you mean? The beachfront is a wreck right now.’

She merely nodded, 'Yes, yes. I'm sure he has the best of intentions.' she said before changing the subject, 'So, did you get any sleep? The thunder kept me up all night.'

'Yeah, I slept okay.'

‘Mmm. Good.’ she said.

Now came the awkward part. Shifting himself around on the couch so he could face her, he waited while she filled up the coffee pot with water. Hovering the pot over the sink, she opened the cupboard and her mug came floating out into her hand. When she turned, he caught her attention with a fresh smile.

'Sooooo, remember how yesterday you suggested I go out, have fun, see the town?' he prompted.

‘I suppose.' she said slowly, eyeing him sideways. She recognized that voice.

'Well...the, uh, the b-best things in life might be free, but...'

She stared at him. Behind her the coffee maker started to hiss.

'C-Can I have some money?'

She let out an exaggerated sigh. 'Ugh...get my purse.' she said, her chiding tone only half-hearted. Izuku hopped out of the couch, 'It's by the front-' she started, but he was already moving. He knew where it was.

Retrieving the small black purse, Izuku tentatively set it down on the table before nonchalantly turning his gaze back to the distant television. To ask for money from one's mother was an elaborate ritual for Izuku crafted after years of buying overpriced All Might merchandise. He was never any good at it.

The news reporter continued her coverage of the destruction at the beach before switching to that day's events. The footage changed from flooded buildings and broken windows to the gleaming UA Stadium where the reporter stated that despite the storm damage to the city, the Sports Festival was still slated to occur as planned on Monday.

'So, are you meeting your friends today?' she asked as she counted out some bills.

'I'm still waiting to hear from everybody. To be honest they're probably all exhausted too. Maybe I'll run into them on Sunday.'

'Well okay. Try not to hurt yourself. Stay away from construction sites!'

'Yeah, yeah…'

* * *

Amidst the sound of construction vehicles and shrieking gulls, Izuku watched as man, man-animal hybrid, and animal alike worked to remove the ocean debris from the waterfront. Great flocks of seabirds covered the beaches and buried roads, feasting on the helpless sea life disgorged from the storm, scattering only when waves of water were once again rolled back into the bay.

This invisible tide was the work of one blue and white costumed hero (Riptide? Surf? Izuku couldn't remember) who, with a motion like rolling an invisible carpet, sent swathes of detritus and water tumbling back into the bay. Surrounding him were younger heroes, probably his interns, who similarly moved trash and debris into the backs of waiting dump trucks.

He had thought that the area would be swarming with curious onlookers given the powers on display, but the overpowering stench of the ocean's vomit seemed to have driven everyone but the children away. Standing in the crowds of cheering youngsters, Izuku began to feel self-conscious and he too left.

_I wonder how many of those guys were support heroes? Considering how I can't remember their names, probably all of them…_

Wandering away from the boardwalk, he found himself subconsciously being led back up into the slums. As he walked, he stepped over a fallen banner advertising the Sports Festival and the reminder caused him to start worrying again. In order to get any kind of payout on his bets he would need to get to the third event. However, even if it meant losing all of his and Weasel's money, he could not use his enhanced strength or speed. Just using his inhuman reflexes and spider senses might get him into trouble. This wasn't going to be like fooling his teachers or classmates. Everything he did would be videotaped, catalogued, and analyzed. Millions of people were going to be watching and if he acted superhuman in the slightest way, he would be discovered.

_I need to keep my head down, always. I can't ever let myself forget that. Hell, never mind the money, what if Dr. Akatani sees me win and decides to do a little investigating? He knows me. Or at least he used to anyway. How difficult would it be for him to discover that I was at the Quirk Research Institute that day? I'm sure a genius like him would put two and two together real quick._

As he thought over his situation an odd sense of déjà vu came over him. Over to his side, he noticed a vacant three-story apartment. He stared at the building. It had long since been destroyed by some fire or explosion and faded police tape could still be seen fluttering around some of the windows.

_Why does this all feel so familiar?_

As he racked his brains trying to remember why the building stood out, a girl came jogging his way. Upon spotting Izuku the runner slowed. Pulling out her earbuds, she took a moment to catch her breath before resuming her run.

* * *

Just as Izuku felt he was about to remember why the building stood out to him, his concentration was abruptly broken when he sensed someone approaching him. Glancing back along the sidewalk, he was immediately taken aback by who he saw. About a half block away and jogging closer was the pretty brunette girl from class 1-A.

_Ochaco Uraraka?!_

Izuku felt his sense of déjà vu grow stronger.

'Should I go talk to her? I should probably say something, shouldn't I? It would be weird to just ignore her. Although I-'

Izuku's mutterings were suddenly interrupted by Ochaco herself.

'Hey! Izuku Midoriya, right?' she called, waving her hand.

'H-Hey!' he called back, raising his hand in greeting and smiling. He attempted a carefree grin, but his uneasiness must have been showing as instead he just looked queasy. He stood numbly as she jogged up to him.

'Hey.' she greeted again, stopping in front of him, 'Whew! I've never seen you around here before! Do you live in the projects?' she asked, wiping some sweat from her brow.

'Uh, no. No. I-I don't. I just came back from the beach.' he said.

'You were at the beach? What were you doing over there? Were you volunteering or something?'

'No, I was just curious about the storm damage. It was a little bit hectic over there though so I left. I mean, obviously I left. I’m standing here now and I, uh, yeah…’ he trailed off weakly.

'Ah. So,' she eyed him mischievously, 'I heard you guys in support have got some secret plans to take out the hero classes. I don't suppose you can give me a few hints as to what you've got up your sleeves, can you?'

'Wh-What secret plans?' he gulped as Ochaco crossed her arms and eyed him skeptically, 'What have you heard? Who’ve you been talking to? There are no secret plans!’

As he sputtered trying to think of something to say, she laughed and tapped his arm.

'I'm just messing with you.' she said with an easy smile, 'I don't buy into the whole "class rivalries" thing. It's easy to think that everyone has it in for class 1-A, but I know that's not actually the case.'

She laughed and he smiled back weakly. The truth was that class 1-H had done far more than merely plan to take down the heroes. Quirks had been researched, match-ups considered, and weapons built. What would Ochaco think if she knew about the surprise they had devised for her?

'Momo tells me that you're one of the top contenders for the Sports Festival. Do you think you'll win a medal?'

Izuku shook his head, 'No. I'm going to try my best, but I don't know if I'll even make it through to the third round. From what I’ve heard your class and class 1-B is really strong.’

'Oh, stop.' she said dismissively, 'I heard about how you fought at the USJ.'

He felt himself blush at the praise.

'I had my gun back then though. During the competition I can only use my grappling hook. No rubber bullets allowed.'

'Still, I saw on Facebook that one of your classmates had posted a bunch of pictures of jetpacks, and bombs, and all sorts of weird stuff-'

Izuku felt his eye twitch.

_Mei! Couldn't she wait until after to start showing off her gear?!_

-so I'm sure you've got a few other gadgets you're not sharing.'

'Well, maybe.' Izuku said, grinning before he could stop himself.

Before either of them could continue their conversation, Ochaco and Izuku spotted a pair of rough looking men approaching them. They walked with no particular urgency, but they had seemed to have taken an interest in the two. Ochaco turned back to Izuku, still smiling.

'Here walk with me, talk with me. I need to keep my heart rate up.' she said and Izuku nodded. He followed beside her and set into step as she started to jog. 'So, where are you headed?'

Together the two jogged towards the subway station, talking as they ran. Their conversation carried them from life at UA and the upcoming school festival, to their classmates and teachers. As they spoke Izuku became convinced beyond all doubt that he had met Ochaco at some point, but try as he might he couldn't place her. She was so familiar it was maddening.

Before long, they arrived at the station and the two said their goodbyes. Each promising the other to meet again during the third event of the festival. As he left aboard the subway, he pulled out his phone.

 _I should get my phone fixed while I have the time._ He thought with a flicker of annoyance at the sight of his cracked screen, but as usual the thought vanished as quickly as it had arrived. Checking his inbox, he saw that he had no messages.

_Well at least I got to hang out with someone today. And it was a girl too!_

* * *

Later that night Izuku took his web-shooters out for some live fire practice. Crouching sideways along the wall of a building, he hummed to himself with satisfaction as he fiddled with a captured smartphone. He was continually amazed at his newfound efficiency. Before, crossing from one end of the slums to the other could take as long as twenty minutes (if he was moving at full speed). But now, thanks to his web-shooters, that time was halved. As an added bonus web slinging was also far less exhausting than running and jumping everywhere not to mention he could keep a better eye on the streets from on high.

So far tonight he had already disrupted a number of Shocker's crews, and to make things better there was no escaping this time. They were firmly secured in place with his web solution.

'Gah! What-what the hell is this stuff!' cried one of the stuck thugs, struggling in vain against the white goop that had ensnared him and his four comrades.

'It's my web!' Izuku proclaimed proudly as he at last bypassed the password on the phone, 'I don't know if you've noticed but I have this whole spider thing going on. A man spider if you will.' he said, as he dialed the police.

'This shit's nasty!' cried another one of the thugs, 'Tell me your body doesn't make this…stuff!' she begged.

'Shhh!' Izuku hissed as the dispatcher answered, 'Hey, it's me.' he said in his deeper, questionably effective Spider-Man voice, 'I've got five waiting for you on 69nth and Pike. I webbed them to the side of the stree-'

Suddenly the gang started shouting.

'Help! Help us!'

'We didn't do nothing wrong! He's a psycho!'

'He planted drugs and guns on us! We're innocent!'

Izuku frowned over at the thugs. Shielding the phone with his hand from the frantically yelling criminals, he continued speaking.

'Sorry. Anyway, anytime you want to get these guys is cool. They're not going anywhere. Bye.'

Izuku dropped the phone down to the pavement below. Upon impact it's screen and casing burst apart.

'Hey! My contacts asshole!' cried the thug whose phone he had borrowed. Izuku regarded the five reproachfully. Their struggling had only managed to get them more entangled.

'Are you serious? I'd be more worried about the police if I were you.'

One of the thugs snorted and spat.

'You think we're going to prison? For what? What are they gonna charge us with, dipshit? We got assaulted by some costumed freak-'

Izuku rolled his eyes. Before the thug could continue, he shot out a web strand at a neighbouring building and leapt.

'-who aint even a pro! None of this'll stick in court! None of it!' the man screamed after him.

The man's words chased after Izuku as he swung away. The thug was right of course. The police wouldn't arrest him or his pals. Vigilantism was not grounds for citizen arrest and any evidence connected with vigilantism was inadmissible in court (unless you were prepared to testify, and face criminal charges yourself). Izuku could see the sense in this of course. Pro heroes were agents of the peace, vigilantes were not.

 _I wonder if once all is said and done the cops will just let Shocker off too?_ He thought as he swung between two high rises. _No, there's no way. He has too much blood on his hands. I'm sure they'd arrest him. They would have too._

He felt his spider sense start to twitch. There was a police helicopter getting dangerously close to his position. Altering his course, he started off towards a more distant region of the slums.

_Even if the police let all these guys go though. I'm still chewing through Shocker's guys. He has to run out of foot soldiers sometime, won't he? I mean, how often can you get beaten up before you call it quits?_

* * *

The next morning Izuku awoke feeling tired. Sluggishly pulling off his sleeping mask and popping out his ear plugs, he reached over to his bedside table and switched off his vibrating phone alarm before flopping back into bed. He couldn't let himself doze the day away. He needed to get as good a night's sleep as possible for the Sports Festival tomorrow.

After a few tempting moments of lying motionless in his comfortable bed, he rolled out of his sheets and made his way to the dining room.

'Mom?' he called, 'Hey, Mom…'

But there was no response. To his surprise, the apartment was empty. Besides the dull thrum of the appliances and his neighbours' moving around, all was quiet.

Still clumsy from sleep, he wandered around the small flat for some sign of her whereabouts. Entering the kitchen, he spotted a small note on the table. Written on it, he saw the tiny, perfect, telekinetic print of his mother. It read:

"Going to get groceries. Run errands. I will be back for supper. I'm making something special. Love, Mom."

He set the note back on the table. A special dinner could really only mean one thing. Katsudon, his favorite. Just the thought made his stomach rumble. Invigorated, he walked with a bounce in his step to the fridge and scrounged himself a sandwich. Retreating to the couch, he plucked the remote from the cushions before settling in. He hadn't had the apartment to himself for a while, and he was looking forward to just relaxing.

He turned on the television. The screen displayed a large, muscly man, flexing and winking in front of a hooting audience while the television host smiled vapidly beside him.

'Returning to the Hero Kitchen is everyone's favourite cactus themed superhero, The Needler!' the host said loudly, and the audience cheered anew.

Izuku rolled his eyes. Selecting guide, he started to browse for something else. To his dismay, there was an endless list of hero themed reality TV. There was Hero Kitchen, the Hero House, Hero House Flippers, the list went on and on.

Finally, he spotted something that got his interest. Selecting "The UA Sports Festival Spectacular: Pregame!" Izuku leaned back and bite into his sandwich.

_This ought to be interesting. Maybe I'll learn something useful for the competition tomorrow._

He watched as the camera panned over the UA sports stadium while the two hosts - both former pro Heroes and graduates of UA - spoke at length about the history of the games and the stadium itself. Izuku only half listened. He was about to change the channel again when the hosts finally started talking about the contestants.

'Of course, what would be the point of all this without the competitors?' said the burly, mustachioed, retired hero Bob Cat.

'Oh, yeah you-you know you just, uh, got to have em!' said his counterpart, Lenny Lemon Thrower.

'So let's take a look at our roster. You've got a lot of upcoming talent here folks. All of them new blood. They're young, they're hopeful, they're hungry.' Bobcat said.

'Yeah. Yeah, it's what they are. Why they're here.' Lenny affirmed, bobbing his head.

'So, lets pull up the graphic. First up, it's class 1-A.' The screen shifted from the two seated hosts to a list of class 1-A students who each had their face next to their name, 'Now we've got to talk about these guys.'

'Oh, yeah. No two ways about it Bob.'

'First off we've got to talk about Shoto Todoroki. He's Endeavour's son. Now Endeavour, love him or hate him, you've got to respect his power. But get this folks, Todoroki Jr. here? He's even more powerful. He's got _two_ quirks. Not only can he shoot blasts of fire like his father, he can generate ice as well. Do you know what that means, Lenny?'

"It means he's, uh, got no weaknesses Bob.'

Izuku studied the picture of Shoto on the screen. He was looking at the camera aloof, almost uncaring in his casualness. His cool confidence was not unwarranted. During the USJ incident Izuku heard that Shoto had instantly defeated all of his opponents by encasing them in ice.

_Even as Spider-Man I'd have trouble against someone like him. If I run into him during the tournament contest, I'm doomed._

'So besides Shoto, whose got your eye Lenny?'

'Me, I like Katsuki Bakugo.' The screen shifted from the calm, distant face of Shoto to the angry scowl of Bakugo. Izuku snickered slightly at the contrast.

 _Bakugo never liked having his school picture taken. I wonder if he would have smiled if he knew his picture was going to be used for the media?_ Izuku considered for half a moment. _Naw. He would never._

'He's got explosions. He's got durability. What more could ya' want, Bob?'

'Mmhmm. Y'know, I'm glad you mentioned durability because like you said, he's generating those explosions from his sweat pores, essentially blowing up bombs right next to himself. His body has got to be able to cope with that and in Bakugo's case, it can.' Bob said.

 _If anybody can take down Todoroki its Bakugo._ Izuku thought before taking another bite of his sandwich.

He continued to listen as the pair went through each member of class 1-A and 1-B. Finally, they finished going through the hero classes and Izuku sat forward eagerly. Logically, the support hero class was next.

'So there you have it folks. That's the first-year hero roster. A lot of untested potential, a lot of eagerness, excitement - these guys are in it to win it big. Of course, there are more competitors than just class 1-A and 1-B, isn't that right Lenny?'

'Uh, yeah that's right Bob. There is, uh, general education, the support department, and the business classes as well.'

Izuku felt his heart rate increase.

_I wonder what they'll say about general education? I don't know anything about them. Or maybe… maybe they'll even do a segment about me! I mean, I am the first quirkless support hero at UA._

'Yep. Yeah, it's really great to see those guys compete.'

'Mmhmm.'

'Really shows the inclusiveness of the games and how we all work together…side by side. Um, yeah.'

'That's right Bob.'

The two hosts looked to each other blankly. After a moment they started to reshuffle their notes and a generic rock jingle started to play.

'So anyway, stay tuned until after the break. We will be going through the second years, and our favoured match-ups.'

Izuku's excited face quickly fell and he sat back in the couch while the program cut to commercial. As far as the media was concerned, all that mattered was Class 1-A and 1-B.

_I guess I can't blame them. The hero classes always win. Still though, not even an honourable mention?_

He scoffed. If everything went according to plan, those announcers were going to be in for a hell of a surprise tomorrow. Grabbing the remote, he started browsing again. Not seeing anything particularly interesting, he selected the hero alert channel.

The screen displayed a well-dressed reporter standing in front of a pockmarked brick wall, a worried expression on her face. Immediately his interest was piqued. In scrolling text on the bottom of the screen were the red alert warnings of a major incident underway. The reporter had her hand to her ear as some information was being fed to her. He waited with baited breath for her to start speaking.

'I've just been told that the death count has just climbed to fourteen as yet another group of victims has been found.'

Adrenaline began pumping into his body. Fourteen people was no joke. This had to be a serious incident.

'This latest group of five was discovered on the corner of 69nth Street and Pike Avenue.'

His face drained of colour and his whole body went numb.

_Five victims… 69th and Pike…_

'Similar to the other victims these were found immersed in the same unidentified chemical compound trapping them against a wall.'

His head started reeling. Pushing his head in his hands, he slouched over unblinking.

_My web solution! It can't be! They were all conscious and breathing when I left them! Could it be toxic? No that's impossible! This can't be happening!_

His mind flooded with images as he poured over every detail that he could. The reporter said that there were fourteen victims. How many had he defeated last night? There were five dealers on Pike, two enforcers on 77th, another three on Cable Junction…

'Authorities say the victims were killed after being immobilized then methodically executed with an edged weapon.'

He tore his head up.

_An edged weapon?_

'So far, the police have only one suspect; the renegade street fighter Spider-Man. Each of the locations where the victims have been found were called in to police by the masked villain himself last night in a sickening attempt of intimidation. We have a recording of the message here. We warn you that the following audio is disturbing.'

He remained still as he listened in horror. Sure enough the clip was his voice telling the police where they could find the criminals he had subdued while they shouted for help in the background. Devoid of context, the message made him seem like a total monster; making his opponents beg for mercy before slaughtering them, leaving their corpses hanging for the police to find. The recording finished and the television displayed the reporter again.

'We will continue to update this story as it develops. Police are warning everyone in the inner-city area to exercise caution while they investigate. If anyone has any information, please call-‘

With shaking hands, he turned off the television. Standing, he began to pace back and forth across the tiny apartment. His mind reeling with what he had just heard.

_An edged weapon…_

After a few moments, he decided that he couldn't just sit and do nothing. He needed to get out there and find some answers. In a flash he went to his closet and put on his spider suit. Pulling on some jeans and a hoodie overtop his costume, he pocketed his mask and ran out. Come what may, he would figure out what had happened last night no matter what.

* * *

Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi reluctantly double parked his car next to an unregistered, unplated, piece of shit brown sedan. The crime scene was still a half block up, but this was as close as he was getting. All of the locals were out in droves trying to catch a look at the bodies and he wasn’t feeling particularly lucky when it came to parking (or anything else for that matter).

Reluctantly stepping out of his car, he briefly considered writing the brown sedan he had parked beside a ticket before he sighed and started walking along his way. There was no point in ticketing anyone out here. As he trudged forward a laughing swarm of children sprinted past him, eagerly running towards the police barricade.

'Do you think there'll be blood?!' asked one of the children to his friends as they ran.

'I hope so!' came the excited reply.

He merely shook his head. He wasn't surprised that the children were so interested, he was just envious of their energy. For the past six hours he had been driving from crime scene to crime scene, taking photos of the gore and trying not to puke on his trousers.

As he walked, he felt his feet start to hurt again. He'd worn out his shoes trying to hunt down a witness last night, not that there was any point. The people in this neighbourhood didn't talk to cops and especially not to detectives.

It wasn’t long before he reached the police cordon. Pushing his way through the crowd, he stooped underneath a strip of yellow police tape. An angry patrolwoman who had the poor misfortune to be assigned crowd control turned to him angrily. Before she could say a word, he raised his badge and without a second glance she turned away from him and resumed her fruitless shouting ('Disperse! Disperse!').

Stepping past some uniformed officers and going around a blocking police van, he came face to face with the crime scene. Stuck to the side of a pawn shop like bugs on a fly strip were five young adults -four male, one female- bodies split from naval to throat, their dried guts dripped out down the building into a pool of viscera at their feet. Just like the others they were all disembowelled and left hanging, like pigs at the butchers.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his pack of cigarettes. He was down to his last cig. Taking out a finely engraved lighter, the only keepsake he had left of his failed marriage, he lit up before looking back up at the stiffs.

'Hey! Detective Tsukauchi' said a chippy, cloyingly high-pitched voice behind him.

He scowled. Swallowing back his disgust, he turned to the voice, his face carefully masked in apathy. Swaggering towards him was an old colleague of his, Detective Shibō. With his expensive coat and unbroken, shiny shoes, Shibō looked particularly out of place amongst the surrounding squalor. Hell, he'd look out of place at a tailor's wedding.

'Detective Shibō,' Tsukauchi greeted emotionlessly, 'I heard you got promoted to homicide. Congratulations.'

Shibō waved his hand dismissively, but his eyes alighted at the praise. Tsukauchi could see the folds around his fat chin grow slightly tighter as the large man resisted a smug grin. Back when he was a green faced rookie, Tsukauchi's old mentor had told him that any respectable detective ought to have a healthy gut. If that were true, then Shibō was Sherlock Holmes.

'Oh, it's nothing.' Shibō said, shrugging in a poor attempt at humility, 'When ol' Tsuryo kicked it and the position became available I figured I was due mine. I popped in the paperwork and presto, new badge.'

'Hmm.' Tsukauchi said, 'New car too.'

Shibō followed his gaze. Parked neatly on the side of the road was a brand new 6000 SUX, pink slip still on the window. Shibō turned back to Tsukauchi proudly.

'You like?' this time Shibō was unable to keep from smiling, his stained yellow teeth matching the gaudy jewellery on his fat fingers, 'Yeah. The missus old lady died. Had a heart attack, fell down some steps, and broke her neck. The wife got lucky with the inheritance and we decided to treat ourselves.'

'My condolences.'

Shibō shrugged again, 'We weren't close. Honestly, I'm surprised that's all it took to do the old hag in. I thought anything short of a silver bullet wouldn't cut it!'

Shibō burst out laughing and Tsukauchi managed a thin-lipped smile.

_I thought you and your wife divorced over a year ago, Shibō? I thought she busted your cheating ass and took you to the cleaners? Stupid bastard. In any other city, any other police force…_

After a few moments Shibō recovered himself. 'Anyway, what brings a fancy downtown detective like you all the way out here? Isn't there some depressed stockbroker's murder-suicide for you to solve?'

Tsukauchi took a drag of his cigarette before responding.

'Not today.' he said, breathing out a cloud of smoke, 'The mayor's office told the commissioner that it wants the good people of the slums to see that the city is taking the murders seriously. So that means more police, more visibility, and yeah, you get me too.'

Shibō spat than swore angrily. Throwing his hands on his hips, he glared over at him as though it was all his fault. Tsukauchi guessed that whoever was lining Shibō's pocket nowadays wasn't going to be too happy about extra police on the streets.

'This is some bullshit, Tsukauchi! No offense, but you don't know these streets like I do. You don't know the people like I do! This isn't like one of your nice, clean cases over in Palm Heights or wherever the fuck. This is the Grey Towers! You have no idea what it means to…'

Tsukauchi waited patiently for the fat man's angry rant to end before rising his hand placatingly.

'Shibō, detective, please. I never asked for this. The last thing I want to do is step on anybody's toes, but it's out of my hands. The good mayor wants voters to see people in suits walking around and asking questions. We both know that as soon as he's re-elected, I'll be back downtown anyway, so what's the harm? You'll only need to bear with me for a few weeks, a month or two tops, before I'm back where I belong.'

Tsukauchi watched as Shibō mulled his words over, lips pursed in concentration. Eventually, he appeared to reach some sort of conclusion.

'Alright, Tsukauchi but you follow my lead! I don't want you running off and stirring up trouble. Leave the questions to me, you understand?'

Tsukauchi took another long drag on his cigarette. Exhaling a deep cloud of smoke, he stared down at Shibō. After a moment of silence, the pudgy man began to fidget nervously. Just as Shibō opened his mouth to speak again, Tsukauchi answered him.

'Yeah, I understand. Now that the formalities are over with, why don't you take me through what happened here.'

Shibō dabbed away some sweat on his face before pointing up at the bodies.

'What's there to say? These guys were working the corner, the big guy,' he said pointing to one of the bodies stuck to the wall, 'was the dealer, the others lookouts and muscle. Spider-Man catches them on his turf. Slices them up. Case closed.'

Tsukauchi rolled his cigarette in his hands.

'Spider-Man doesn't kill though. Whose to say it wasn't some other gangster?'

'The fucker called us mid act.' Shibō said moving out of the way of a forensic officer, 'He's guilty.'

'Hmm…' Tsukauchi murmured, looking back up at the bodies.

_In one night Spider-Man goes from slapping up thugs to gutting them like pigs? I doubt it._

'Were there any witnesses?' Tsukauchi asked turning back to Shibō.

'Yeah there was one. Some junky the responding officers nabbed. He said he saw a guy in red jump down from the rooftop with a sword of all things. He carved them up before running off towards the Towers.' Shibō gestured vaguely towards the four massive eyesores looming in the distance.

Tsukauchi frowned. Walking back past the police van, he looked down the street, over the heads of the crowd, and in the tower’s direction.

_Not much of a lead…_

Suddenly he noticed a person in the crowd. A teenage boy with green hair and freckles. He had turned to look at the towers at exactly the same time as he had. He seemed out of place. His clothes were too nice, his face too clean. Before he could do anything though, the boy must have noticed him because he promptly disappeared back into the crowd.

_Super hearing quirk maybe? Probably nothing…_

Tsukauchi walked back to the bodies. With no leads, a corrupt partner, and the mayor's office riding his ass like a twenty-dollar whore, he had his work cut out for him. Taking a final drag on his cigarette, he flicked it aside and loosened his tie. It was going to be another long day.

* * *

Izuku's heart pounded as he sprinted up the side of the Grey Tower; his body flooded with adrenaline as he struggled to restrain his emotions. He was terrified of being out in the daylight, police were swarming everywhere, and yet he was too angry to turn back. Whoever was holed up in the towers had made him an accessory to murder. Not just one, but fourteen.

In his haste he found that he could barely form a coherent string of thought. Running and jumping up the spire, his mind blared with alternating messages urging caution one moment and speed the next, whispering him to be calm then shouting at him to get revenge. All the while his spider sense thrummed, covering his body in pricks and needles as it barraged his subconscious with sensory information.

He didn't know for certain who he was looking for, but he had a hunch. It was Stain. Who else carried a sword around? Who else would cut down fourteen criminals without a second thought?

In less than half a minute he reached the skeletal crest of the tower. He wasted no time in standing around. After a brief search of the concrete infrastructure that formed the core of the building, he located an ancient, rusted maintenance shaft. Effortlessly tearing the steel covered hatchway from its hinges, he tossed the crumpled metal covering aside like it was weightless.

For a moment he hesitated as he stared down into the pit before him. He needed to calm down, gather his thoughts. He wasn't even sure what had led him here. Between them, there were hundreds of floors in the Grey Towers with thousands of rooms. Why was he so sure that he was on the right track?

A sudden chill ran down his spine and he crouched down onto all fours. This was no time to be arguing with himself. Something was leading him and he didn't intend to waste it. With predatory grace he crawled into the dark hole. His senses razor sharp and primed. Not for danger, but for his prey.

* * *

As silently as a shadow, Izuku crept through the vertical maintenance shaft. He couldn't tell what he was following specifically, but he knew he was getting closer. Unhampered by the pitch darkness, he glided through the vents unseen and unheard by the clumsy humans around him. He passed by a hundred different openings, leading to a hundred different rooms, filled with untold masses of people, any one of which could have been his target but he ignored them all. Occasionally a waft of air would rattle through the vent, stirring a gentle cloud of dust motes in its wake. He would stop and breathe in. What was that flavour? Was it dried blood? Was it sweat? He himself could not tell, but it was becoming stronger.

Izuku had never felt this anticipation before, this pressure! He had given himself over to instinct, his genius intellect overruled by the inhuman creature inside of him. The other half of his namesake, the spider.

The air was thick with emotion. So thick it almost made him gag. He passed over desperate families, bickering neighbours, philosophising junkies, screaming madmen, and the broken. The stench of fear and sadness was intoxicating; dangerously sweet. Occasionally he would detect an earthy almost mouth-watering aroma that sent tremors racing through him. Just a little further.

Without realizing, he began to move faster. The air was getting fresher, the taste sharper. He was so close now. Slowly he picked up a new sound, a rhythmic and slow thumping. It was the growing sound of a heartbeat. It was slow and steady. Unaware. At ease.

He moved as close to the sound as he could. Pressing his ear against the wall he could hear breathing, a whetstone pass over metal, the crackling static of a muted television. His target was on the other side of the wall.

Realigning his body so he faced towards the sound, he gripped the concrete around him as tightly as he could. He tensed his muscles causing them to bulge and flex as power built throughout his body. Bracing himself, he leapt. The concrete wall exploded in front of him, rebar bending like plastic as he shot forwards with explosive force.

Amidst the shower of concrete fragments, he saw a man's face, his eyes widening in surprise, a gleaming sword in his hands. The concrete had slowed Izuku, but he was still a blur of motion. Before the man could even adjust himself, Izuku was upon him. With contemptuous ease he grabbed his sword arm and squeezed, crushing his bones.

In that same quarter second, Izuku kicked the man high in his thigh. The man flew backward, the skin on his arm tearing free where Izuku still gripped him. Tumbling end over end, the man smashed through a tool bench, scattering tools and scrap metal across the room before sliding to a standstill near an empty window.

Izuku felt his perception speed up again as the concrete shards fell on the floor. While the man lay struggling, he quickly took in his surroundings. Unlike the rest of the tower, this room was cleared of the layers of grime and filth that seemed to ooze from the walls. Besides cinderblock shelves piled high with books, there was little furniture. A simple but tidy stilted bed lay in one corner, opposite a rack full of deadly looking knives and blades. Amongst the ruins of the workbench Izuku spotted disassembled electronics. A police scanner perhaps?

Izuku cleared his head. He wasn't finished yet.

He strode over to the crippled man who was now fumbling with his sword arm, desperately trying to transfer the blade from his mangled right hand to his left. Before he could unclench his fingers from the handle however, Izuku kicked aside his left hand and stepped on his wrist, pinning him to the floor. The man snarled, though with pain or rage Izuku couldn't tell.

Izuku studied the man. He had long black hair, loosely swept up into a ponytail and chiselled well defined features alongside hard, piercing eyes. He would have been quite handsome if not for the mangled lump of scar tissue where his nose once was. He gave the impression of someone who offered few compromises and asked for little in return.

The two looked at each other for a moment before Izuku broke the silence.

'Stain.'

* * *

Stain struggled to push himself up on his elbows, but his body was too damaged. In a huff, he collapsed on his back, gasping.

'How did you find me?' he asked, wheezing. 

Izuku was silent for a moment. He had no answer for him.

'Does it really matter?'

Stain grimaced as he adjusted himself.

'No. I guess not. I take it you're here because of those criminals I killed? I get it. I can see now that you're quite young, you haven't realized the real nature of the city. I-'

'Just stop.' Izuku said, 'I've spoken with Knuckleduster. I already know about your crusade. I'm not interested in your motives or your narcissistic ideology. Let's not pretend that this is about anything more than you and me.'

Stain grunted in acknowledgement and Izuku scowled under his mask. Stain was remarkably composed for someone with a crushed arm and twisted hip. His resoluteness was irritating.

'Its personal then.'

'Personal?' Izuku said incredulously. An image of Shocker suddenly flew in his mind. Either Stain was a complete fool or he was trying to get under his skin because he sounded genuinely surprised.

'Yes! Yes, it's personal! You killed fourteen people and made everyone think I'm to blame! Now when people think of me, they'll think I'm some sort of mass murderer like you!'

Stain looked on passively.

'They were criminals. If I didn't kill them, they'd be back on the street right now.'

'Maybe! But they didn't deserve to die!' Izuku yelled. In his anger he pushed down with his foot, crushing down on Stain's free hand. However, Stain continued to look on nonplussed. He seemed totally unconcerned for his safety.

'What are you going to do here, Spider-Man? I did what I felt was necessary, and so did you. We're enemies. We're supposed to be. I'm sure you've come across other killers besides me, was it personal for you then too?'

Izuku gritted his teeth, 'This. Is. Different!' he hissed, 'I'm trying to make the slums safer, not cause people to look over their shoulders in fear! All that does is put everyone on edge!'

'I suppose we'll have to agree to disagree then because I can guarantee you that all fourteen of those rats were irredeemable. The only message they respond to is fear of reprisal and you sticking them to a wall-'

'Shut up!' Izuku shouted, 'How can you be so stupid? Can't you see what you're doing? Rule by fear? What kind of world is that? You were a vigilante once, I know you admire All Might as much as I do. So how're you so fucked up? We have a responsibility to show people a better way!' Izuku said, leaning down and grabbing the man by the throat, 'You're just another psychopath!' he spat throwing him back down on the floor.

He watched as Stain winced and gasped in pain. Eyes rolling, he took a few shuddering breaths before looking back up at Izuku, 'I thought…I thought you didn't want to debate ideology?' Stain said before letting out a hacking laugh.

He made to grab him again, but Stain spoke before he could lay his hands on him. 'Wait. Look. Me and you? We're both just doing what we're supposed to be doing. You think it's personal - what I did to those nobody's - because you're trying to show everyone there is a better way. Good! I hope there is, but I know that's not the case. Otherwise you wouldn't be forced to hide yourself, would you? You're a good guy, but you're not considered a hero. I don't know what your reasons are, but there has to be something rotten about our society making you put that mask on. Meanwhile so-called pro heroes are inspiring the people with shampoo commercials and fast food.'

Stain jutted his chin out towards the window.

'Even before I killed those scum everybody already considered you a villain, Spider-Man. For all our differences, to the people we might as well be the same thing. Where's your righteous indignation for _that_ injustice, hm?'

Izuku leaned back up. Shaking his head in resignation, he regarded Stain with something approaching pity.

'There is no point in talking to you, is there? Knuckleduster told me to let him handle you, but I guess the police will have to do.'

Stain smiled but was otherwise silent. With a flick of his wrist Izuku webbed Stain's legs and feet down to the concrete floor. After rummaging around the room for a short while, he found a small cache of burner cell phones. Stain had remained still during his search, perhaps he knew there was no point. He must have seen firsthand that struggling for freedom in the webs amounted to nothing last night. Instead he merely watched curiously while Izuku dialed the spider hotline. Izuku wondered how busy they were today. Maybe they had received a thousand calls about him running up the side of the building.

'Hello, this is th-' began a cool policeman's voice, but Izuku interrupted him.

'Yeah, hi it's me. I'm in the Grey Towers, the one on 72nd and Prosperity, the uh…' Izuku was silent as he counted the floors from the neighbouring Grey Tower, '…43rd story, on the north east side. Stain’s here to by the way. Me and him have been having a party and he needs a ride home.'

'Sir, it is a felony to impersonate a known villain for the purposes of mischief. If you-'

'Well you'd better come and arrest me then. Oh, and incidentally Stain is the guy who killed those fourteen people, not me.'

'Sir, I-'

Izuku turned off the phone and gave himself a stretch. He'd made a hell of an entrance, but next time maybe he would have to consider climbing through the window instead of jumping through six inches of reinforced concrete.

'I'll probably get the death penalty you know.' Stain called over.

Izuku looked over at him and sighed. He probably would, but that was the last thing he wanted to be thinking about.

'I doubt it. Any sane person can see you're crazy.' Izuku said wearily.

Stain didn’t reply. The two waited in silence while the sun continued to creep down to the horizon. Eventually Izuku's spider sense alerted him of several men wearing combat boots stealthily moving through the stairwell nearby.

'Well, they're here.' Izuku said quietly.

Stain craned his neck over his shoulder and paused, as though listening.

'Yeah... I believe so. You'd better run, they might confuse us.' Stain said in an oddly upbeat tone.

Izuku turned towards the destroyed concrete wall and began to walk away. Before he could exit however, Stain called out to him.

'Goodbye, Spider-Man.'

Out of habit Izuku waved over his shoulder and left.

* * *

Upon arriving home he found that his mom had indeed made Katsudon, and the two attempted to enjoy themselves before the big day tomorrow. However, try as they might, their conversation was strained and stinted. Izuku spent most of the night wide awake, staring up at his All Might posters. He couldn't help but think about what Stain had said. How many other people like him had there been over the years? Did the good get mixed in with the bad like Stain?

He hardly slept and he got up from bed as the sun rose. That morning his mom wished him luck before tearfully hugging him goodbye. The whole commute to UA he was bombarded with advertisements for the Sports Festival while everyone on the train excitedly yammered away about the upcoming events. More than a few people noticed his gym bag and guessed he was a student but thankfully they didn't approach him. Unless you were in class 1-A or 1-B, you were just another extra as Bakugo would have put it.

Once he had arrived at school, Izuku joined up with the rest of the class in their homeroom where he found all his classmates nervously talking to one another. Before they knew it, Power Loader arrived and they were instructed to change into their gym uniforms and proceed to the UA stadium. The moment had come.


	21. The First Event

'Will class 1-F please proceed to the arena floor? Class 1-F to the arena floor please.'

The remaining first years who had yet to be summoned from the mustering hall all turned to look with morbid fascination as the members of class 1-F started to shuffle towards the arena entrance tunnel. Stiff legged and pale faced, they slowly proceeded down the ramp that went to the stadium – like cows being led to slaughter. Moments later, the constant dull roar of the crowds suddenly peaked in volume and the waiting room vibrated with a rumbling clamour as class 1-F came into view of the spectators.

Standing against the wall nearest to the exit tunnel was class 1-H. Grouped with his classmates, Izuku stood side by side between Moyashi and Saigo, nervously swallowing every now and then. His mouth felt dry but he didn't dare drink any more water. He'd already been over to the water fountain four times now and he didn't want to risk having to excuse himself midway through one of the events to use the restroom, or worse, having an "accident" on live TV.

The thought made him shudder.

At least he wasn't alone in his suffering. Everyone was in a different state of panic. Well, everyone except Mei that is. While her classmates were on the verge of having a nervous breakdown, she was calmly checking the pockets of her utility belt, humming as she did so.

 _How does she do it?_ He wondered as he watched her adjust some setting on her shiny new jet powered hover boots. _If I was wearing as much gear as she was, I'd be sweating bullets._

Because all of the members of class 1-H were fully equipped with their gear, they were a very noticeable contrast to the identically dressed students of the other classes. In previous years, the media had all made a big show of examining, critiquing, and even poking fun of the support student’s appearance. It was the only time support got any attention in the games really, and the thought of being teased on national television hung over them all like a guillotine.

In the fashion department Izuku had definitely come up short. Besides his uniform, all he had on him was his utility belt, grenade bandolier, grappling gun, and nightstick. Really, he looked like a mall security guard rather than an athlete, but at least he wasn't bogged down with gear. He was thankful that he hadn't opted to bring as much equipment as some of the others had. Maybe that way the cameras wouldn't pay as much attention to him.

Mei was resplendent in her goggles and newly designed jet boots with matching harness and a dart gun that looked and functioned suspiciously like Izuku's (though she swore vehemently that she had first designed it when she was nine).

Moyashi, Bukimi and Saigo were all wearing a co-developed leg assisted spring harness that gave them all far increased stamina and speed. Hiretsuna had a similar harness though hers was lighter. Like Mei and Izuku, she also had grappling spikes except hers were built into her shockwave enhancing gauntlets.

And then there was Kiska. She seemed to have decided that slow and steady would win the race as her gargantuan suit was nearly the size of Power Loader's. What it lacked in speed, it made up for in firepower as it seemed as though she had exploited every loophole she could in order to cram as many weapons as possible on board.

Izuku watched apprehensively as she adjusted some settings on her forearm mounted console. She had a very special mission for the race. He just hoped that the chemical he had told Kiska about would be as effective as he thought it was.

'A-Are we good to go Kiska?' Izuku asked, looking up at her past her bulky suit frame.

'You bet, Izuku. First chance I get I'll unleash Hell!' she said with unexpected eagerness.

Izuku nodded before staring back down at his feet. Sighing, he ran his hands through his hair and closed his eyes. He was about to make a lot of enemies but it couldn't be helped.

''Will class 1-G please proceed to the tunnel? That is class 1-G to the tunnel please. Thank you.'

Izuku opened his eyes. They were next. Taking a deep breath, he called out to his classmates.

'H-Hey. Everyone…'

All the members of class 1-H stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him. He swallowed past the lump in his throat and continued.

'Let's uh, let's all just stick to the plan, okay? No matter what happens, we need to advance.' Izuku said in what he hoped sounded like confidence, 'All of us! So throw fair play out the window, fight dirty, and don't stop running until you're across the finish line. Remember, we're all in this together!'

Izuku's voice faltered somewhat at the end of his speech but they cheered regardless. A few of them broke out into nervous smiles and Saigo gave him a hearty thump on the back.

'Good pep talk, coach.' Bukimi said with a nod, 'We're doomed, but that was very inspirational. I can die with pride now.'

'N-No problem.' Izuku stammered, 'But I r-r-really do think we can win, y'know?'

Bukimi gave him another smile, but it quickly vanished.

'Class 1-H? Class 1-H please proceed to the tunnel.'

Izuku felt his spider-sense tingle and he pushed himself off from the wall.

_No pressure Deku. Just a couple billion, your identity, and your life are on the line. No pressure at all._

* * *

Izuku marched side by side with his classmates down the tunnel towards the stadium grounds. The light from the sun at the tunnel's exit seemed almost impossibly bright and several students shielded their eyes as they drew closer. As they got nearer to the ravenous crowds, the very walls of the tunnel seemed to be reverberating with their chants, cheers, and stamping feet.

Izuku quickly found his senses being overwhelmed. There were so many distinct sounds bombarding his senses, that just processing it all made him feel nauseous. Either that or he had become so nervous that he was going to puke. At the moment either seemed pretty likely.

Closing his eyes, he tried to centre himself.

_Just don't cry or anything, Deku. Please, please, please! For the love of all that is holy and sacred in this godforsaken, cesspit of a fucking city-_

'Eh? What's that?'

Alarmed, his eyes flew open. Mei was walking beside him, her ear cupped in one hand.

'Uh, nothing!' Izuku shouted back quickly.

_Damnit! Me and my stupid mumbling._

'What's the matter, Izuku? Feeling a little stage fright?' Mei asked in an overly sweet voice, seemingly oblivious to the growing roar of the stadium in front of them.

'N-No. I'm cool.'

Giving her a tight-lipped smile, he focused back on the tunnel exit ahead and involuntarily gulped. Compared to the Sports Festival, testing his web-shooters had been a cake walk!

At last they reached the end of the tunnel. Upon walking outside, the stadium exploded into cheers.

‘And here we have Class 1-H, the hero support department class!’ boomed the voice of Present Mic through the stadium’s speakers who was acting as announcer, ‘Don’t they look interesting with all their equipment? Who knows what kind of gizmos they’re packing, eh Eraser Head?’

‘Yes, I can’t wait to find out.’ said the bored voice of his co-host Aizawa.

Blinking away the blinding light from the sun, Izuku and his classmates found themselves painfully isolated. Up ahead in the centre of the stadium the rest of the first years stood waiting, but it was a long walk to join them. Starting off at a brisk pace, Class 1-H hustled forward all while Present Mic began gleefully dissecting their costumes.

‘Ooh, look at that! It seems like most of Class 1-H have invested in power assisted legs! Such cleverness! I wonder though; do their legs not work already? Kids today, am I right? Always looking for shortcuts.’ Present Mic snickered, ‘Let’s see, what else do we have here…Who catches my eye…’ said Present Mic before picking out students to highlight.

Izuku fully intended to keep his head low until he was safe in the crowd of other first years. However, he found he was unable to resist glancing up into the stands. What he saw made his head swim as his vision filled with thousands upon thousands of cheering faces. His next step forward, his legs suddenly felt light and he stumbled slightly.

'Hey Izuku, you’re looking a little greener than usual. Feeling a bit faint?' Mei said, smiling mischievously.

He tore his eyes away from the crowd and faced her. In the glaring light, her features seemed to be almost glowing.

'Wha?' he said weakly.

'Hm. Well I know the cure for that. Are you ticklish?'

Without warning, her hand suddenly darted out and began poking and probing his ribs. With a high-pitched yelp, he tried to back away but there was nowhere he could escape to unless he wanted to leave the group.

'What are you doing?!' Izuku shouted breathlessly as he tried to fight back his giggles, 'We're on TV you idiot!'

'Oh, poor boy.' Mei said laughingly as her hands raked across his chest, 'Am I embarrassing you?'

With a renewed fervour, she attempted to press her attack but he quickly regained his bearings. Darting backwards, he slipped between two of his classmates that had been following behind him. Staring at her in wide eyed disbelief, he was at a momentary loss for words.

'Wh-What was that all about?!' he asked angrily.

Mei twirled and began walking backward so she could maintain eye contact. Laughing, she winked.

'Just trying to liven up our entrance. Well, don't be rude! Wave!'

With that she turned and pointed above them. Suddenly afraid, he followed her finger with a mounting sense of dread. Swarming overhead was a buzzing flock of camera drones, their unblinking bulbous glass irises capturing everything in all its high definition splendor. Every nervous face, every tight-lipped expression, every swear, threat, promise, prayer, and tear delivered in 4K resolution to the folks back home.

But that wasn't all. Beyond the drones he was horrified to see his own scarlet face on the gargantuan stadium screen. Sixty thousand people were packed into the UA Sports Stadium and God only knows how many million more were watching the event live and he had just made a total idiot of himself. He stood dumbfounded, staring at his slack jawed self on the jumbo screen like a deer caught in headlights for a full second before he snapped his open mouth shut and forced himself to resume walking.

 _If by some miracle me and Mei get to fight each other in the tournament…_ He thought darkly as Mei cackled.

Continuing to march forward, the support students crossed the grass perimeter of the stadium and reached a red painted, square shaped, concrete pavilion in the centre of the field where the other first year students were waiting. Quickly merging with the other students, there were more than a few breaths of relief from class 1-H as they became just another face among many.

Now relatively secure, Izuku found that he could breathe again. Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, his fragile sense of security was almost instantly shattered by Present Mic introducing the next class. Again, the explosion of sound caused him to wince.

_At this rate I’m going to need my hearing checked!_

Covering his ears, he tried to find Bakugo among the other students but it was no use. Because Class 1-A was called out first, they were probably at the very front of the group next to the stage.

‘Hey, Izuku.’

Moyashi was trying to speak to him. Pretending like he could barely hear, he uncovered his ears and leaned in his direction.

‘Yeah?’ he shouted.

‘Check it out.’ Moyashi said, pointing into the crowd.

Izuku looked. Up in the nosebleed section, he could just make out a group of people excitedly waving a sign. It read “Go Moyashi!”

Izuku instantly forgot his worries and grinned.

‘Is that your family?’ he said, waving to them.

‘Yep. If I embarrass myself today Izuku, I want you to know its all your fault.’

Izuku laughed and he felt himself begin to relax a little. Over the next twenty minutes, the remaining classes were called out until every first-year student was clumped together in the pavilion. Once they had all gathered, the stadium erupted into hoots and wolf whistles. He was confused until he saw Midnight come in to view on the stage. She was in full costume including her trademark whip much to the crowd’s delight. Upon reaching the podium, she gave them all a smile and he felt his heart flutter.

'Hello first years!' she said and the stadium slowly quieted, 'Welcome to the Sports Festival! I'll be the head referee for the three events that you will be participating in! Now, before we go over the rules, we will first need to hear the player's pledge.'

Izuku couldn’t help but pinch himself. All those times watching the games at home, he had dreamed of giving the player’s pledge himself – not that he wanted that now. It was far better to just be competing.

'The player's pledge is a tradition at the games and is given by one of the first years who has demonstrated qualities consistent with the spirit of the Sports Festival. So, I would like you all to give your attention to… Katsuki Bakugo!'

Sweeping her arm out, she gave a gesture and Bakugo appeared nonchalantly climbing up the stairs to the stage. Izuku gawked.

_Bakugo?! Bakugo is the one delivering the player's pledge?! This has to be a joke._

Evidently the rest of the first years thought the same as there were several confused looks amongst the students. However, it was no joke. Strutting up to the podium, Bakugo tapped the microphone before clearing his throat.

'I just want to say…' Bakugo started.

Izuku went still. What sort of speech would he make?

'…I'm going to win.'

At that Bakugo leaned back from the microphone and stood there. First there was silence. Then the crowd of first years began booing. Bakugo looked completely nonplussed as everyone started shouting at him.

'Get off the stage!'

'I knew it! That conceited, arrogant, asshole!'

'He's so full of himself!'

Izuku however was unsurprised. If ever there was a Bakugo speech, that was it. With a shrug of his shoulders, Bakugo calmly hopped off the stage and rejoined his classmates while Midnight went back to the microphone.

'Well…there you have it. Uh, confidence! Now, without further adieu, it's time for us to get started on the first event!'

With a flash, a gigantic holographic screen suddenly appeared behind Midnight and the crowd went wild with cheering. The screen displayed a slot machine-like image of hundreds of possible events that began rapidly flipping past. To Izuku's amusement he saw "Battle Royale" as one of the possible events.

 _I sure could go for some Battle Royale myself right about now._ Izuku thought, glancing over at Mei.

A chime rang and the wheel came to an abrupt stop at "obstacle course".

'Great!’ Midnight said, and the crowd cheered anew, ‘Looks like we’ll be having an obstacle course race! Now let me explain the rules. Your goal is simple! Outside the stadium we have set up a four-kilometre course. In order to advance to the second event, you must be one of the first forty-two contestants across the finish line! As long as you don't leave the course, you're free to do as your heart desires!'

At that one of the giant gates that lined the perimeter of the stadium opened.

'So, will all contestants please take their positions on the painted line and await my signal!'

The crowd began to shift and move. As the other first years went to the line, Izuku turned to his classmates.

'Well guys, this is it. Remember: whatever it takes to win. _Whatever it takes_.' he repeated, looking at Kiska meaningfully. Face firm, she nodded back at him.

Moving into position, Izuku stepped up to the painted line beside Moyashi. Taking a deep breath, he got into his running stance.

_Don't look superhuman. Don't look superhuman._

'GO!'

* * *

At the crack of Midnight's whip, the race was on and the starting line immediately devolved into chaos. As soon as the signal was given, Izuku felt his spider-sense thrum. Glancing down the line, he saw Todoroki adjust his hands from a sprinting stance so his palms rested on the ground. Upon contact, a swell of ice began expanding outward.

Faster than Izuku thought possible, the frost shot down the line of crouching students, freezing everyone it touched in place. Sensing his teammates peril, Izuku cried out in warning, startling several of them into moving, but most of them were too slow and instead became ensnared in the rising tide of ice.

He watched helplessly as well over half his class, including poor Kiska, became trapped. Howling with impotent rage, she tried freeing her suit by forcing it to move but it was no use. Tendrils of ice had begun worming their way into the hydraulics and servos that controlled her joints, transforming her into a four-hundred-kilogram statue.

_She’s dead in the water. So much for plan A._

While Todoroki’s ice was still working through the ranks, an explosion sounded and Izuku whipped his head in its direction. Flying off at breakneck speed was Bakugo who despite being close to the epicentre of the attack seemed to have escaped unscathed. Following right being him was Todoroki himself, who was gliding along a sheet of ice his feet were generating in front of him. Hot on their heels, the rest of class 1-A and 1-B surged, who likewise seemed unaffected.

In less than a second everything had gone to hell, but that was to be expected. This was the Sports Festival after all and here the words fair play had no meaning. Ignoring the cries of the people around him, Izuku launched himself out of his sprinting stance just as the ice reached his shoes. Pumping his arms, he rapidly accelerated to his sprinting speed.

Directly ahead, he saw Class 1-A and 1-B racing after Bakugo and Todoroki. A few of them were faster than he could manage as a “normal human”, but not all.

_Okay, Todoroki. You’ve had your fun, but now its my turn._

His strategy was simple. In order to maximize his chances of making it to the third event as many support heroes as possible had to qualify. Therefore, any member of class 1-A or 1-B that he could reach had to be eliminated.

Maintaining his pace, he set his sights on the front runners. Bakugo had already reached the far end of the tunnel, followed closely by Todoroki and Tenya. Izuku clenched his jaw and increased his speed.

As he ran, Moyashi, Bukimi and Saigo went lopping past him - their long digitigrade artificial legs springing them forward with every step.

'Yeah! Go for it guys!' cheered Izuku.

'You too, Izuku! Keep it up!' Bukimi shouted back at him.

Izuku added a little more speed. Bakugo, Todoroki, and Tenya may be untouchable, but he was starting to gain on the others.

* * *

Kiska banged her fist against the side of her control panel, but it was no use. She was dead in the water. Spitting out a long string of curses that caused the nearby camera drones to quickly shy away, she dropped her head in shame.

_So many hours of work…So much effort…_

With a snarl, she flipped a strand of hair from her face. If she was going to go down, she was going to take as many people down with her as she could. Opening her targeting computer, she selected the front runners of the race. Luckily, they were still in range. Giggling wildly, she activated her weapons. With a hiss of steam, a barrage of white pellets fired from the tubes on her back, arcing above the stadium wall and towards the distant runners. Milliseconds later several more pellets fired. Arcing red this time. Then blue. Then red again.

After a few salvos her long-range weaponry was expended and Present Mic started shouting loudly about the unexpected fireworks.

_That ought to slow them down!_

Without wasting a moment, she unclasped herself from her suit. Landing on the slippery frozen earth, she nearly lost her balance before managing to slide her way back to solid ground. The least she could do was finish the race.

* * *

Izuku ran out the tunnel and into the curving dirt path that ringed the stadium. Following the trail, he rapidly came up on a number of general education students who had somehow managed to escape Todoroki's initial attack. They looked at him in surprise as he whipped past them, their eyes filled with a sort of desperation that he knew all to well. No doubt they hoped that if they succeeded in the tournament, they would get the opportunity to join the hero program.

_Sorry guys, but I'm not throwing this race for anyone!_

As he pulled ahead, he suddenly felt his spider-sense flair up. Glancing skyward, he was amazed to see puffs of smoke exploding in airbursts over the race track in front of him. Some of the puffs rained droplets of chemicals while others fell to the earth as dense clouds of gas which coalesced into a rolling fog; gently cascading downwards and enveloping the hero class students who were at the front of the race. Izuku grinned and hastily altered his course to avoid the worst of the smoke.

_Kiska! She must have still had power to her weapon systems! I just hope that her attack was effective._

Izuku's answer soon came as he heard anguished shouting coming in from the obscuring mists. As they entered the fog, the remaining support department students pulled on their rebreathers and gas masks.

* * *

'Is…is that legal?' Present Mic asked his co-host Aizawa while multiple monitors displayed several hero class students slow and fumble as they struggled with some unknown chemical effect.

'Technically.' Aizawa responded calmly, 'From what I understand, it's the same chemical used to fight forest fires. The blue gas freezes and the red prevents combustion. There's no rule against fire extinguishers.'

'Oh.'

Present Mic reactivated his microphone, 'Well! It seems as though the support department has been busy! An unexpected attack from the rear! And what's this? Trouble in the lead?! Could this be enough to upset the rankings!?'

Aizawa watched impassively as his students flailed around in the smoke. In his mind this was just another test. If they couldn't handle a little surprise then they didn't deserve to win.

* * *

Bakugo let out a small cry of astonishment as Todoroki pulled ahead of him. Sliding on a self generated trail of ice, the boy gradually increased the distance between them.

Bakugo snarled and leapt. With a series of extremely subtle and delicate hand movements learned from a lifetime of constant practice and training, he directed his explosive blasts to maintain his leap and continue flying forward. However, try as he might he couldn't seem to close the gap. If he went any faster he risked losing control and crashing. His only hope was that the approaching obstacles slowed Todoroki down.

Suddenly he saw an explosion of blue and red smoke cover the track ahead. Todoroki saw it too and he appeared to hesitate. However, it was too late to change course and his momentum carried him forward and he disappeared into the haze.

'What the…?'

Before Bakugo could do anything, an explosion of red and blue chemicals appeared in front of him as well. Too close for him to avoid, he snapped his mouth shut and held his breath as he plunged in.

Immediately upon entering the cloud, Bakugo was soaked. His UA athletics uniform, skin, and hair became drenched in what felt like water but it had a curious oily texture. A half second later, he felt his skin spasm as pins and needles broke out, tickling him gently. Then he was freezing.

With a gasp, Bakugo felt his lungs freeze and his heart shudder. He had never felt so cold. The air that was once pleasantly cool against his skin now felt like a frigid Arctic gale. The freezing blast cut into him like a knife. In the midst of this assault he lost control of as his movements as every pore in his body closed in a desperate attempt to insulate itself from any further heat loss.

He slammed into the ground and for a moment he just lay their shivering.

_What the fuck just happened?! Is this one of the obstacles?_

Bakugo struggled to his feet, rubbing his arms as he stood, vainly trying to warm himself up. Thankfully his momentum had carried him out of the mists but he was still in trouble. His quirk allowed him to generate nitroglycerin from his sweat glands which he could then detonate at will. It was an immensely powerful quirk, but it had a glaring weakness. If he couldn't sweat, he was effectively powerless.

Bakugo quickly checked behind him. The whole track seemed to be covered in the smoke.

_How…_

Suddenly Present Mic started speaking, 'Well! It seems as though the support department has been busy! An unexpected attack from the rear! And what's this? Trouble in the lead?! Could this be enough to upset the rankings!?'

Bakugo felt his face quiver with rage and he let out a fearsome roar.

'DEKU!'

_That little fucking bastard! He knows my weakness! He probably cooked up this fucking war crime bullshit to take me out! But its not going to happen! Fuck you Deku! Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck, fuck, fuck…_

Snapping his eyes forward, Bakugo forced himself to continue on. He still had a substantial lead and there was no way in hell he was going to waste it.

* * *

Izuku sprinted toward a red-headed class 1-A and a silver-headed class 1-B student. Even numbed by the cold, they continued resolutely onward. It was admirable, but he couldn't afford to let them interfere with his plans.

'How's it going boys? Bit nippy isn't it?' Izuku remarked cheerfully. Once he was between them, he slowed so he could remain level with them.

'Y-y-you!' said the silver-haired boy through chattering teeth, 'S-S-S-Support chea-chea-cheated!

'What? Nooooo, why would you say that?' Izuku said innocently, his hands busy behind the two boy's backs.

'Chem-chem-chemicals!' snarled the redhead, glaring at Izuku murderously.

'Oh, that!' Izuku said laughing, 'Yeah.' they raised their fists angrily, 'Anyway I'll catch you guys later at the finish line. See ya!'

At that he accelerated ahead of the pair. With a snarl the two attempted their own burst of speed, but instead found themselves tripping over each other and collapsing into a heap of struggling limbs.

'Argh! Get off me you dope!'

'Me get off you? You get off me!'

'Maybe you should both get each other off?' shouted Izuku over his shoulder, laughing as he sped away.

The two looked at Izuku then back at each other in dumb confusion. Then they spotted it. Wrapped around their legs was a thin, steel cord linking the pair together. The two were silent for a moment before they simultaneously exploded into shouts of promised retribution and bloody revenge. As they raged, Mei went floating past them, giggling.

* * *

Tenya allowed himself a small grin as he sprinted past Bakugo and Todoroki. Whatever that smoke was it seemed to have nullified their quirks. Luckily, he had been able to dodge around the clouds before it could hit him. His leg engines were in top form today!

'Just maintain your composure, Tenya.' he muttered to himself as he ran, carefully regulating the power to his calf thrusters, 'Stay alert for any trouble.'

Rounding a bend in the track, he suddenly came face to face with a pack of giant robots - the same used during the entrance exam.

'It seems as though we have our first student to encounter an obstacle! Watch out for those robots' boys and girls, they're much more aggressive than the ones you're used to!' Present Mic's voice boomed from the PA.

He frowned. Fighting them wasn't worth his time. Zigzagging and swerving, he dodged around their stomping feet and reaching claws. After a few moments of rapid maneuvering he cleared the herd.

'Simple! Hardly a challenge.' he declared, adjusting his glasses.

If this was the level of difficulty he could expect for the rest of the track, first place was as good as his.

* * *

Izuku grinned to himself as he ran up on Bakugo and Todoroki. The two seemed to be having a private race all to themselves.

'Fuck off half breed, use your flames and get this shit off of me!' Bakugo shouted at Todoroki.

'Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. The red chemicals have suppressed my flames.' Todoroki responded calmly.

'Argh!' shouted Bakugo in frustration. Suddenly he noticed Izuku coming up behind him and he let out a peal of hatred causing Todoroki to recoil in alarm.

'YOU! DEKU YOU FUCKING BASTARD! YOU'D BETTER PRAY I DON'T GET MY QUIRK BACK TODAY! CAUSE IF I DO, I'M GOING TO BLAST THOSE FRECKLES RIGHT OFF YOUR STUPID FACE!'

Izuku whistled.

'Jeez, Kacchan. Take a breath! Your lips are turning blue! Or, wait. Is that from the cold? Damn. Guess mommy should have brought you a sweater, huh?'

Bakugo snarled in rage but otherwise kept running, desperate to maintain his pace. Todoroki also put in more energy, gritting his teeth as he fought to stay level with Bakugo. However for all their effort Izuku was able to causally catch up to the pair.

'Yep, lovely day for a run.' Izuku remarked, gazing up at the sky appreciatively, 'Say Todoroki, something's bothering me. Why don't you use your ice to just zip through here?'

'Internal…temperature…too…low…too…cold.' Todoroki said haltingly between breaths.

'Ahh. So that's how it works.' Izuku said sagely, ‘I thought you’d have to balance out your internal temperature somehow.’

The three rounded a bend in the track. As they cleared the corner, they came face to face with a group of massive robots, the earth shuddering with their every step. Bakugo and Todoroki slowed, hesitating before the towering metal giants.

'Welp. I'll leave you two to it. Good luck!' Izuku shouted over his shoulder.

One of the robots raised a foot to stomp him, but he wasn't worried. Snapping out his grappling gun he fired into the titan's shoulder. Catching the hook’s tip on a groove along the robot’s hull, he flung up and over its metal head. Behind it several more of the robotic titans stood waiting, but he merely retracted his grappling hook and fired again, this time snagging one of the robots by the shoulder. Slinging himself gracefully from robot to robot, he quickly cleared the pack before using his momentum killing cord on the last automaton. Landing with a roll, he swiftly resumed his pace.

Dimly he was aware of Present Mic shouting praises at his acrobatic skill.

_Let's see how you manage without your quirk, Bakugo._

His eyes narrowed. Near another pack of robots, he had spotted a few more people on his list.

* * *

Tenya stood hesitating before a series of cliffs and gulches. He had made it to the second obstacle. All he had to do now was cross the linking bridge of tightropes to the various cliffs and he would be back on the open track.

_Now is not the time to be reckless. I need to carefully plan my route before I commit to a path. If I slip up even once I'll be disqualified._

As he studied the cliff faces for a safe route to the other side, he heard the sounds of explosions and tearing metal behind him.

_Damn! A few must have already reached the robots! I need to get moving._

Tentatively setting his foot down on a cable, he slowly throttled up his engines. Holding his arms out at his sides like a figure skater, he began to slide across the rope towards the cliff faces.

Tenya felt his face go red as he heard Present Mic decrying his lack of flare, but he didn't care. Better safe than sorry. Stepping on to one of the cliff islands in the gorge, he searched his surroundings for another cord forward. He still had a comfortable lead.

* * *

Izuku carefully controlled his pace as he neared the second obstacle. Though Kiska's attack had been devastating, many of the class 1-A and 1-B students had managed to recover and were now rapidly gaining on the support heroes. So far Izuku had managed to trip up a couple of the more bothersome ones - including Kaminari and Jiro who he had managed to tie to a rampaging robot - but several others had passed him.

 _I need to pick up the pace._ Izuku thought as he followed the track up a steepening hill.

Reaching the top, he was surprised to see Moyashi and Saigo. They were stopped before the start of the second obstacle, hands on their hips while they gasped for breath. Izuku ran up to the two, coming to a skipping halt.

'What's the problem guys?' he asked.

'Ah! Izuku, you're here. Me and Moyashi are in a bit of trouble.' Saigo said, grinning sheepishly.

'What's wrong?'

'Our legs.' panted Moyashi, 'They can't grip the rope. And our suits are too heavy for us to climb.'

'I knew we should have went for a lighter design!' Saigo said running his hand through his sweat slick hair. 'Hiretsuna and Bukimi have already crossed. By our estimate, there are about twenty or so people ahead of us. If we can't find a way forward…'

Izuku nodded. Without another word he pulled out his grappling gun, 'Here, I'll pull you across one at a time.'

The two looked at him then at each other.

'Our suits are pretty heavy, Izuku. Can your arms handle it? I'm sitting at about one hundred and forty kilos.'

'One fifty for me.' said Moyashi.

For a moment Izuku was tempted to just throw back his head and laugh, pluck each of them under his arm and jump across the chasm, island to island, before setting them down, but he knew how stupid that would be.

He sighed. No matter how much he wanted his fellow support heroes to succeed, he couldn’t put himself at risk.

'Sorry guys. That's a little too heavy for me.'

They graciously waved his excuse away.

'Don't worry about it.' Saigo said firmly, 'Just go. We'll find a way.'

'Yeah. Hurry and catch up to the front. We can look after ourselves.' Moyashi added.

Izuku gave them both a tap on the shoulder.

'I'll see you both at the finish line.' Izuku said. Pulling out his grappling gun, he took aim and fired at a one of the rock column islands in the distance.

* * *

'Finally, it seems as though we're entering the last leg of the race as several competitors have reached the final stage!' cried Present Mic to the cheering crowd of the arena while the stadium screen displayed a dozen students carefully navigating a minefield.

'In the lead we have Tenya Ilida, followed by Mashirao Ojiro, and Mina Ashido! But these three had better stay focused as several other competitors are closing in fast, well as fast as they can in a minefield. It's still anyone's race!'

Switching off the microphone, Present Mic leaned back in his chair and took a sip of water while continuing to monitor the racers from the broadcasting booth's many cameras. It really was anyone’s race. Even though Tenya had maintained his lead, it only took one slip up in the minefield to be flung out of bounds. If that happened, then it really would come down to the wire.

At that moment he became aware of his co-hosts silence. Even for a reclusive, shut-in, killjoy Aizawa was being quiet. Present Mic turned to him and arched his eyebrows. He knew the taciturn grump long enough to read his body language.

'What's bothering you Eraser old buddy? Are your boys and girls not living up to your expectations?' Present Mic teased.

'No. They're not.' Aizawa said, his expression unchanging, 'Too many of them are being taken out by surprise attacks from the support class. They should be more vigilant.'

A small frown formed on Aizawa's face and Present Mic looked to the monitor he was watching. At that moment the rope that Mezo Shoji and Rikido Sato, two of Aizawa's students, had been using to climb across the second obstacle was suddenly cut, sending the pair plummeting into the gorge below.

Wasting no time, Present Mic reactivated the microphone.

'And that’s two more disqualified!' Present Mic crowed, 'But why did the rope break?'

The camera panned over to the cliffside where the rope had been secured. It showed one of the support class students, a kid with green hair and freckles, hastily pocketing a knife in his utility belt, 'Just one of life's little mysteries I guess.' Present Mic said, giggling.

Aizawa let out a low growl of frustration. Those two were some of class 1-A's strongest.

Present Mic started laughing in earnest then.

* * *

At last Izuku stood before the final challenge. In front of him was a three-hundred-metre-long passage, bordered on both sides by a high fence. Buried within that three hundred metres were hundreds upon hundreds of land mines. If you looked closely, you could just barely see a small metal pressure sensor poking above the ground. One false step and boom. You'd be sent flying.

Directing his attention away from the course itself, he considered his competition. He was delighted to see that Hiretsuna and Bukimi had already progressed about a quarter of the way through. Barring some catastrophe, they were definitely going to be within the top forty-two. Looking past them, he quickly took stock of who else was on the minefield.

_Let's see…Who's going to be a problem in the next round._

He spotted several potential candidates. There was Mina, but she was easily countered. The support class had already worked out how to beat her. Tenya was a good choice, he was powerful, but too far in the lead for Izuku to reach in time. Tenya was probably going to win. Then he spotted Ojiro.

_The boy with the tail from the USJ. He can fight, and he has no obvious weaknesses. He could be real trouble in the tournament. Nobody would believe that a normal person could beat someone like him in a fight. I need to take him out while I have the chance!_

His mind made up, he entered the minefield. To him the mines posed no danger whatsoever. His feet easily led him to the correct path thanks to his spider-sense and it wasn't long before he caught up with Hiretsuna and Bukimi.

'How's it going guys?' he called out from behind.

'Ack!' cried Hiretsuna clutching her chest as she whirled around, carefully keeping her feet planted on the ground, 'Midoriya! For God's sake, you almost gave me a heart attack!'

'Oops. Sorry. I'm just glad to see you guys have made it this far!'

'S-Same.' Bukimi said, sweat pouring down his face as he carefully manipulated his suit legs to avoid stepping on a suspicious tuft of dirt.

 _I shouldn't distract these guys._ Izuku thought as they turned their attention back forward.

'I'll see you two up ahead.' he said moving past them. Their jaws dropped as he skipped past them.

'Be careful Izuku! Don't rush!' called out Hiretsuna. He waved in acknowledgment before continuing on his way. He had to catch up to Ojiro.

With pretend trepidation, He hastily moved through the mines. Just for show, he would occasionally hop and jump from spot to spot, each time eliciting a cry of suspense from Present Mic ('Here he goes! And…oof safe! Someone check that kid for a four leaf clover!') before he finally caught up with Ojiro and Mina.

'Step…step…step…' Mina muttered as she quickly walked on her tiptoes past numerous mines. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted him catching up to them and she frowned slightly, 'Hey Ojiro, looks like we've got company…'

Ojiro glanced at him for a moment before turning back to his careful navigation, lips pressed thin in intense concentration.

Slowing his pace, Izuku carefully scanned ahead of Ojiro. Buried in the earth he spotted one of the shiny metal detonator caps.

 _I think its time_ _Ojiro had a little accident. If I use one of my grenades I might get disqualified for attacking students unnecessarily. But what if…_

Reaching around his utility belt, he grabbed one of his metal carabiners. Keeping the small metal loop concealed in his hand, he waited for his moment to strike. Ojiro's path would take him right next to the mine.

Izuku held his breath and Ojiro stepped closer. Stopping about a half foot away from the mine detonator, Ojiro paused to consider his next move. Before he could leave however, Izuku braced himself and threw the metal loop at the explosive's trigger.

The metal carabiner hit the detonator cap with a loud clink. In that microsecond, Izuku could have sworn that Ojiro looked down at the cap. Another microsecond later and there was a thunderous explosion of pink smoke, sending Ojiro careening off into the sky.

'Ba-Ba-Ba-Boom!' Present Mic shouted jubilantly, 'Finally! I've been waiting all day for that to happen!'

Mina cried in dismay as her classmate was thrown upwards. Tumbling head over heels he flopped down, impacting the ground with a huff. Unfortunately for him, as soon as he hit the ground, another mine exploded sending him shooting skywards again, further back into the minefield.

Izuku grinned evilly before he quickly wiped away his smile. He had a race to finish. While Mina was distracted, he easily pulled in front of her. Behind him he heard more explosions as Ojiro continued to be thrown end over end. Though he was tempted, Izuku didn't turn around. From up ahead he heard the stadium erupt into cheering applause. Tenya had just cleared the course and Izuku bowed his head slightly in acceptance.

_Damn. Hopefully I can find a way to knock him out in the second round._

Increasing his speed, Izuku effortlessly avoided the remaining mines and entered the long tunnel that led into the stadium itself. Adopting a suitable end of race sprint, he charged forward down the dim passage towards the light ahead.

_I wonder what Weasel is thinking right about now. I wonder what Mom is thinking._

Izuku felt a grin break out across his face as he exited out of the dark tunnel and into the temporarily blinding glare of the sunlight filled arena. The cheering spectators of the stadium greeted him as he slowed to a stop beside a surprised looking Tenya.

'In second place is Izuku Midoriya from the support class! Incredible!' boomed Present Mic.

Izuku waved to the stands as he pretended to catch his breath. With the exception of the opening, the Sports Festival was some of the most fun he had ever had. But now came the hard part: the group activities.


	22. The Second Event

Izuku cheered and clapped with the rest of the stadium as Moyashi jogged across the finish line. In order to cross the ravine, he had been forced to remove his harness and travel the remaining distance on foot - an impressive feat for someone with his condition.

'And coming in at 112th place we have Moyashi Kimuzukashī!'

The crowds continued to cheer as Moyashi slowed himself to a stop. Slouching over on his hands and knees, he took great gulps of air as he tried to catch his breath.

'You did it!' shouted Izuku as the rest of the support class crowded around him, 'I knew you would!'

Between heavy breaths Moyashi adopted a feeble grin. He wouldn't be competing in the second event, but at the very least he hadn't come in last place. Letting Moyashi recover, Izuku looked up at the jumbo screen which displayed the remaining runners who had yet to cross. Funnily enough Kiska was still running the course, but besides her everyone else was either in general education, the business class, or disqualified.

He considered the names of those who had managed to qualify for the second event. Besides Kiska and Moyashi, all of his friends had managed to qualify.

_At least I'll have allies for the second round. I'm going to need them._

To his immense displeasure, both Shoto and Bakugo had somehow managed to secure the 33rd and 34th position on the leaderboards. That put a damper on things as Bakugo would almost certainly do everything in his power to destroy him the first chance he got.

Speaking of enemies, he was getting worried about the number of dirty looks that were being directed his way by class 1-A and 1-B. He had overheard several of them loudly speculating about his less than honourable tactics during the race. At the moment they were voicing their complaints to Midnight. Crooking his head, he perked his ears and eavesdropped.

'How'd that rope break in the cliff obstacle? Gee, I wonder…'

'Midnight? Oh, Midnight? Excuse me, but can we see the footage of when Kirishima and Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu got tied together?'

'The mine exploded _before_ Ojiro stepped on it! I swear!'

After listening to their clamouring for a moment, Midnight raised her whip for silence.

'We already viewed the footage of the event as it was happening, and we have determined that there was no cheating. All the equipment that was used in the event was registered before the race and some sabotage of your opponents is allowed in the competition. The current festival rankings will remain.' Midnight said firmly.

The hero classes grumbled, but ultimately accepted her judgement. That didn’t stop them from shooting him and the other members of Class 1-H dirty looks though. He did his best to ignore them, but their hostile attitude was not lost on the others.

'I hope there's no hard feelings.' Hiretsuna said meekly, 'It’s not like we broke any rules – not technically.'

Mei snorted and tossed her hair, 'All's fair in Sports and Business.' that didn't sound right to Izuku, but there was no point in arguing with her, 'We did what we had to do to get here. It's not our fault they didn't come up with a game plan.'

'Speaking of game plans, what's ours?' Bukimi said and everyone turned to Izuku.

'We need more information.' Izuku said, 'Let's just wait and see what the next event is. We'll come up with something then.'

The five nodded to each other. As they broke apart their huddle, Present Mic's voice filled the stadium.

'And finally, our last contestant finishes! Let's give it up for Kiska Kēki!'

Kiska ran in smiling and waving peace signs to the crowd. Immediately all the other contestants besides support started booing her. She laughed at their taunts and jeers and started blowing kisses. While she was enjoying her accolades, Bakugo came stomping over.

'You cheater!' shouted Bakugo, 'You just had to throw a tantrum and screw everyone else, didn't you? I know you and Deku worked out some sort of deal! I bet you-'

'Bakugo! If you say another word you will be disqualified!' Midnight warned.

Bakugo snapped his jaw shut and worked his tongue behind his closed mouth, his face turning bright red. For a brief moment Izuku thought he was going to explode before he threw up his hands in frustration and turned away. Sighing in relief, Izuku turned back to Kiska.

'I still can't believe how crazy that attack was, Kiska. It's probably because of you that so many of us qualified.' He said earnestly. Though she hadn't managed to knock out Bakugo or Todoroki she had taken out Tsuyu Asui, another one of the class 1-A general purpose fighters. Tsuyu's cold-blooded physiology simply couldn't cope with being soaked in refrigerant.

Kiska blushed at the praise, 'You're welcome. I'm just glad I could contribute.'

Before they could say anything else, Midnight called out to all the contestants.

'All right, can all of those who failed to qualify please exit the arena and go to your assigned seating. Everyone who did qualify, gather around me.'

'Good luck you guys.' shouted Kiska and Moyashi as they went with the other students to the stands. Each class had their own private booth waiting for them up above.

Izuku and his fellows waved goodbye before joining the assembly in front of Midnight.

'All right everyone, gather 'round. Congratulations on advancing to the second event. Now let's find out what you'll be doing!'

At that the holographic screen reappeared and the slot machine began spinning. With the blare of a horn, it stopped. The screen read: "Cavalry Battle".

'Alright, there you have it! The second challenge is the cavalry battle. The rules for this event are simple. To start: each of you will form a team of at most four students.'

The support heroes looked at each other, all thinking the same thing.

_Four people? Someone's going to left behind!_

'In your group, whichever of you placed the highest in the obstacle course will act as a rider to be carried by your teammates.'

_Looks like I'm going to be a rider then._ Izuku thought.

'Each rider will be wearing a headband. The goal of the cavalry battle is to steal the other teams' headbands! You may use your quirks, but only to help you move around. You may not attack each other.'

Bakugo let out a low hiss and Izuku felt a relieved smile break out on his face. Hampered by a team, it would be difficult for Bakugo to use his quirk, especially without attacking.

'Each of you are assigned a point value. The person in last place is worth five points and the second to last person worth ten points. Each subsequent increase in placing in the obstacle race denotes an additional five points so that third place is worth two hundred points, second place worth two hundred and five, and first place is worth…ten million points!' Midnight said, a cruel smile tugging at her lips.

Everyone shifted their focus to Tenya who's confident smirk was instantly replaced with a look of pure horror.

_It's a good thing I didn't come in first! Whichever team steals Tenya's headband is guaranteed a spot in the third round._ Izuku thought with relief.

'Your rider’s headband represents the total accumulated points of your team!’ continued Midnight, ‘You will all have thirty minutes to try and steal as many headbands as possible, and at the end of the time limit the top four teams will proceed to the next round! Beware! If your rider falls off your horse, your team will be penalized five minutes so don't get careless! You all have fifteen minutes to decide your teams. Choose wisely.'

* * *

As Izuku, Mei, Hiretsuna, Saigo and Bukimi exchanged glances, an awkward silence settled over them.

'So…' Izuku started tentatively before Hiretsuna interrupted him.

'Here, why don't we just cut to the chase. I'm fine being let out of the team.' she said evenly.

'R-Really? Are you sure?' Izuku asked in surprise.

'Yes, I'm sure. You guys can do what you need to do, but I'll do my own thing.'

'Well, if that's how you feel, then I guess we'll see you in the third event. Good luck, Hiretsuna.' Izuku said uncertainly.

She nodded, before breaking away from the group and disappearing into the crowd of milling students.

_Damn. Out of everyone in support she had the most powerful quirk._

Mei was the first one to break the silence.

'Well, what's done is done.' she said putting her arms around Izuku and Saigo, 'Let's get down to business gentlemen. How're we going to win?'

'First we need to know how many points we’re starting with. What's our headband worth?' Bukimi asked, peering over at the stadium screen that displayed their ranking in the race.

'Four-hundred-sixty-five.' Mei answered instantly.

'Right, so if we want to advance, we'll need to steal at least one other headband.' Bukimi said, flexing his wings behind him, 'Its too bad I'm not the rider. I'm the lightest and I could just fly away.' he finished pensively.

'How do you feel about being the rider, Midoriya?' Mei asked.

'I think its perfect. I can concentrate purely on defense. Plus, I mean…I'm not trying to brag, but I'm pretty confident that if you get me in arms reach, I can steal a few headbands.' Izuku said carefully.

'Well that's good to hear.’ Saigo said, ‘What do you think we should do?'

'I think you should focus on keeping us moving so we can avoid getting trapped and we should definitely stay away from Tenya.' Izuku said and the huddle broke so they could stare at him. The champion’s face was sheet white and his glasses askew as he scrambled around the yard trying to scrounge together a team. Reforming the huddle, Izuku shrugged, 'Sucks to be him, but whatever. Hopefully while everyone’s busy beating him up we can sneak by. If not though, let’s not worry about a little combat.’

'Maybe we should ambush the people going after Tenya?' Mei said, smiling deviously. 'We can probably rack up quite a few points that way!'

'We’ll see how it goes…uh, just a heads up: I guarantee Bakugo is going to be after us and by us, I mean me. He'll want to knock me out as soon as he can. In fact, I bet in the first minute of the race he’s going to be blasting us.' Izuku admitted regretfully, rubbing the back of his head.

'Will he?' Mei said in a surprised tone, 'If *I* were him, I'd let you advance to the third round so I could grind you into paste, mano a mano. Y’know, really put on a show for the cameras.' she said thoughtfully and Izuku felt his breath catch in his throat.

'Shit…' he muttered. That was exactly the sort of thing Bakugo would do.

'Well that's one less thing for us to worry about!' Mei said brightly, 'So, what should our team name be? Can we be called “Team Mei-o-maze”? See, it's like me, but even more amazing. Get it? No? How about…'

* * *

Izuku clambered up on his teammates shoulders while they hoisted up his legs. Swaying slightly, he experimented with his balance by moving from side to side.

'How's your balance, Midoriya?' Bukimi asked from his right.

'Perfect.' Izuku replied grinning, 'You guys are doing great.'

While many of the other teams seemed to be struggling somewhat with achieving a secure position for their rider, Izuku felt quite at ease atop his teammate's shoulders. His balance would be even better if he were barefoot, but he didn't want to even attempt _that_ conversation. Looking around, he saw that most teams were of four members, but there were a few teams of three (including Tenya who sat uncertainly on the shoulders of Ochaco and the flamboyant Class 1-A transfer student named Aoyama) as well as a couple teams of two.

As everyone finished getting organized, Izuku took a deep breath and prepared himself.

_I can't afford to get cocky. If I make it to the third round then I've already won my one billion yen and I can track down the League of Villains. Don't screw this up!_

As the final students finished seating their riders, Midnight called out across the arena.

'Your fifteen minutes are up!' she shouted, 'Everyone, go to your starting positions!'

The stands roared as the ungainly cavalry teams began to move. After they had parked themselves into evenly spaced increments around the circular colosseum a small drone came flying to them and delivered their headbands.

Snatching the headband from the drone, Izuku tied it firmly to his forehead. It had occurred to him that he could just tie it to his palm and use his super grip to make it all but impossible to remove, but he decided against it.

Once everyone had tied their headbands, Midnight raised her whip.

'Begin!' she shouted and her whip cracked.

* * *

As soon as the call was given, Izuku Immediately spotted three teams galloping their way. Unsurprisingly, they had decided that the support heroes were easy pickings and they wanted to claim their headband before anyone else.

'Looks like we've got company.' Saigo started uncertainly, 'What should we do Mido-'

'Let's meet them head on!' Izuku shouted eagerly, 'They're weak!'

'Oh! Well okay then Conan, let's go!' Saigo said with giddy enthusiasm.

Izuku and his team rushed over to the first squad of three. Izuku didn't know their names so they had to be in general education or the business class.

_They're going to regret underestimating us!_

The students charged at one another. Coming within reaching distance, the girl riding on top of her two classmates lunged out, her fingernails suddenly shooting out to snatch at Izuku's headband. With a twist of his hips, he dodged around her grasping hand easily. Fast as lightning, his own hand darted out and neatly pulled the fifty-point headband off from around the girl's head. Still blinking in surprise at her failed attack, Izuku gave her a sharp shove high on her chest with his other hand. The blow sent her flopping off her riders to the ground below.

Midnight saw the team's defeat and called out:

'Rider down, five-minute penalty!'

Izuku tied the new headband around his neck.

_Five-hundred-fifteen!_

The next cavalry team came rushing forward, whooping excitedly. The boy atop his mount eagerly swung his cloven hand out, but Izuku defeated him in the same way - snatch and shove. The boy fell heavily atop his three mounts, knocking them all face first into the dirt.

_Six-hundred-ten!_

The third squad approached them more cautiously. It was a team of two, both class 1-A. The rider was the purple haired boy Mineta. His mount, the silent giant Koda. As soon as the two teams approached one another Mineta began to pluck the fist sized purple globules that were sprouting from his scalp and began throwing them.

'Feel my sticky justice!' he yelled manically, showering the support squad in purple blots. Izuku managed to dodge the attack but his fellow teammates weren't so lucky. Bukimi got two matted into his leathery wings and Saigo was hit in the arm and stomach. Mei was hit the worst of all, getting a sticky purple ball right across her cheek.

'Ha! Money shot! Mineta shouted.

'Get me closer!' Izuku shouted and his teammates obliged.

Weaving between the barrage of purple blots, Izuku waited for his chance to counter while his team closed the distance. As they got closer, Mineta became increasingly panicked as he failed to land a hit. Finally, he was in arms reach and Mineta screeched as Izuku loomed over him.

He swooped down on the smaller, purple haired scoundrel. With one hand he grabbed the boy by the collar and tore him off Koda's shoulders. With his other hand he snatched his headband. Izuku let gravity do the rest and the boy fell to the ground with a thud. Before Mineta could scurry away, Mei's steel booted foot came down on his groin and the crowd let out an audible "oof!".

'Whoops. Sorry!' Mei said callously as they left the pair in the dust.

_Seven-hundred-forty-five! Just a few more points and we're guaranteed to advance!_ Izuku thought as he tied the ribbon around his forehead.

* * *

Far above the grassy floor of the arena and the throngs of cheering spectators, Power Loader and Thirteen sat side by side behind the glass of the box seats, sipping iced tea while they observed the cavalry battle unfold below.

'Ha! That's another team down for the count.' Thirteen said savagely as Mineta and Koda were given a five-minute penalty for losing their rider, 'I must say, your class is doing exceptionally well, Higari. I confess I had my doubts when you were telling me how talented they were.'

'Hmm…yes.' Power Loader simpered, swirling his glass elegantly, 'Well talent recognizes its own of course. So, I forgive you…'

'Oh, quit gloating!' Thirteen said angrily, but he knew she was smiling behind her mask, 'They haven't lived up to the hype yet! The second event has only just begun after all.'

'True, anything can happen although they've already done much more than I asked for. I wanted them to put in an honest effort, and here they are trying to take first place. This is a…special group. Have you ever seen a first-year class this promising?'

Thirteen went into a thoughtful silence for a few seconds as she thought it over, 'Maybe your expectations are too low. If you have a high-quality class like this you should really push them. Who knows what they could be capable of?'

'Oh, I know.' Power Loader said as his students managed to defeat another team, 'I've got some plans in the works. I want to see how strong they really are.'

The pair resumed spectating, silently appraising their pupils as they snatched headband after headband.

* * *

Izuku and his team watched the other teams warily. A sort of stalemate had arisen from the four leading teams. 

Tenya's team had lost their first-place headband quickly to Sero and his squad only to recapture it moments later. Sero had redirected their energy to Izuku only to be defeated in close quarters. Now Izuku, Mina, Momo, and Tenya were carefully avoiding each other as they tried to run out the clock.

'How…come…I…always…end…up…carrying…you…Izuku!' Mei said grimacing as she shifted his weight from one arm to the other.

'I'd swap with you if I could, Mei.' Izuku said absently, carefully keeping his eyes on an approaching team. He glared at them and they appeared to rethink their approach, going after Mina's team instead. 'Just another minute.'

Mei moaned, but hoisted him up higher nonetheless. He looked down at her appreciatively before he remembered he was still mad at her for humiliating him and he shifted his gaze back up to the other teams. The first twenty minutes had been hectic as everyone tried their luck at taking him down. However, after he and his team had knocked the challengers down one by one, the challengers had decided they weren't as soft as they looked and backed off.

_Just a couple more seconds. Come on. Come on!_

He felt a thrill of nerves run up his spine. Someone was coming. Twisting around, he spotted Hiretsuna goading her team onward to intercept them. Izuku felt a swell of adrenaline. This would be the last engagement.

'Heads up guys, Hiretsuna's inbound at seven o'clock.' Izuku said.

'What?! Hiretsuna?' Saigo said in dismay, 'But why?'

'Hey, she wants to win. I can't blame her.' Bukimi grunted as he turned them around.

'Let's..do…this..' Mei panted.

As the two teams charged at each other they suddenly heard Present Mic shouting.

'And Tenya is down! He's lost the number one headband to Shinso of general education with less than a minute left!'

Izuku didn't bother looking over. He couldn't afford to get distracted now. Reaching into his utility belt, he popped in a pair of specially designed ear plugs. They would block out anything that operated at a dangerously high decibel. He had initially designed them to fight against Bakugo, but they would work equally well against Hiretsuna's shockwaves. With grim resolve the two teams faced each other.

'Eu tu, Brute?' Saigo shouted over at Hiretsuna as the two came within reach.

The words whipped across Hiretsuna's face and for a brief moment she looked visibly upset before she regained her composure. Drawing in close she brought her hands down together in a light clap. However, before her palms could touch, Izuku thrust out his hand between hers. She looked down at her hands in surprise then up at Izuku. She opened her mouth to say something but before the words could leave her mouth, he had pushed her. Flying off her horse, she landed on her backside with an undignified bounce. After a moment her expression changed from surprise to resignation. Putting her hands on her knees she just sat still.

Before Midnight could even call out her team for losing their rider, an airhorn blared. The event had ended.

'Damnit!' said one of Hiretsuna's teammates rounding on the girl, 'Some leader you turned out to be!'

Hiretsuna said nothing as her teammates went marching past her, leaving her behind in front of Izuku and his squad. They all stood there staring for a moment.

'Er, well it was a good try!' Saigo said uneasily.

'Yeah! I would've done the same if I were you.' Mei said in agreement.

Izuku hopped off his teammates shoulders and landed next to Hiretsuna.

'You almost got me there.' Izuku said, extending his hand.

After a moments hesitation, Hiretsuna took the offered hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet.

'Thanks.' she said quietly, 'I thought it was worth a shot. I didn't want to just give up, y'know?'

Mei nodded in agreement and gave her a thumbs up as Izuku thought of something to say. Instead he just nodded.

'We had the better teammates, Hiretsuna.' Bukimi said.

Another uneasy silence descended on the group for a moment, but it was thankfully cut short by Present Mic.

'What a finish! Incredibly, Hitoshi Shinso of general education takes first place! Followed by Izuku Midoriya of the support department! In third is Momo Yaoyorozu of the hero program and in fourth place is Mina Ashido also of the hero program. What is happening?! How are the heroes losing?! Are their teachers to blame?! You know, I always say: spare the rod-'

Suddenly there was a scuffling sound at the microphone. Everyone glanced at each other as they heard what sounded like a chair being knocked over and glass breaking. After a brief scratching sound, a voice was once again heard on the speakers. It was Aizawa.

'That concludes the second event. All students may leave now for their lunch break. You are dismissed.'

Izuku let out an excited cheer alongside his teammates.

_I've done it! Win or lose, it doesn't matter. I'm a billionaire!_


	23. The Third Event

After the second event, the first-year students were called back to the stadium to participate in a series of useless games for the audience’s amusement. The whole ordeal was humiliating (it had largely been created to inflate the length of the games to sell more commercials), but at least it wasn’t too exhausting. After an hour of making fools of themselves, the first-year students were dismissed for lunch while the half-time event played. 

In the cafeteria, disappointment hung thick over Class 1-A as they sat together in sullen silence while eating their lunches. This wasn't how the Sports Festival was supposed to go. Though several of them were advancing to the third round, all of their victories felt hollow; like they had managed to squeak through on technicalities as opposed to merit. Even Bakugo was pensive as he poked away at his burger with his fries.

For those unfortunates who had not advanced to the third round, their minds were filled with a clawing doubt. Aizawa had told them that if they failed to live up to his expectations during the Sports Festival, they could be replaced by those who did. Maybe they deserved it? Maybe they really weren't qualified.

Momo, who had been browsing the internet for news, lowered her smart phone and broke the silence.

'They're saying that this is the first time so many support heroes and general education students have advanced to the third round in Sports Festival history.' she said morosely to the group, 'So either they're that good-'

'Or we're that bad.' Mina finished glumly, 'This sucks.'

'At least you guys qualified.' Kirishima said, smiling mirthlessly, 'I never even made it past the cliffs.'

'I never even made it to the robots.' Tsuyu croaked, still hugging the hot water bottle that Recovery Girl had given her, 'I'm as good as gone.'

Bakugo snorted, 'Listen to you guys. What kind of heroes are you? If this is how you act then you deserve to get kicked out.'

Mina scowled at him fiercely, 'Bakugo, I've had enough of your-'

'No wait!' Kirishima interrupted and Mina looked over at him in surprise, 'I want to hear what he has to say. Okay Bakugo, what would you do?'

'Well to start I wouldn't sit around and mope! I'd get pissed off!' Bakugo growled, 'Do you think it's a coincidence that all this weird stuff has been happening? Mark my words, this is all Deku's doing.'

Kaminari, Jiro, Kirishima, Shoji, Sato, and Ojiro all exchanged looks. They had each had a suspicious encounter with Izuku during the track.

'Are you talking about what happened to us on the course?' Jiro asked.

'Yes! And even before that! I don't think you guys realize just how sneaky and manipulative Deku is! Who but he would be devious enough to use fucking forest fire suppressant on us? Hell, he was probably planning this ever since the incident at the USJ! Scouting us for vulnerabilities, figuring out who to take out!'

'Are you saying the reason why he targeted me in the minefield is because he saw me fighting and figured I was some threat to his masterplan?' Ojiro asked incredulously.

'Yes!' Bakugo said, pounding his fist on the table.

'Why didn't he take me out?' Mina asked, twirling her hair, 'I was right beside Oijiro.'

'Oh, he has some sort of weapon in store for you raccoon eyes. You can bet your horns on that.' Bakugo said darkly.

Momo scrunched up her face as she considered what Bakugo was suggesting.

'This all sounds highly unlikely, Bakugo. Izuku helped Ojiro in the USJ remember? He helped me, Jiro and Kaminari too. I somehow doubt he's been following us around examining for weaknesses. Taking advantage of the chaos during the event is one thing, but to suggest that he’s been researching us? Come on. We've never even run into him outside of school.'

Ochaco cleared her throat and everyone looked at her.

'I-I talked with him on the weekend before the festival.'

'What?' they chorused, Bakugo looked furious.

'What did you tell him?!' Bakugo snarled.

'Nothing! Honest!' Ochaco said desperately, 'I just found him while I was going for a jog…' At that she told them all the story of encountering Izuku that Saturday and the conversation they had.

'Really that's it! He never mentioned anything about secret weapons, or anything creepy at all!' Ochaco pleaded to her grim-faced peers.

'Maybe he was trying to figure out if you were a threat.' Jiro said studying her hands, her brow furrowed in concentration.

'Listen to me. I've known Deku his whole life. He keeps entire fucking notebooks about people's quirks. He's always analyzing people, looking for weaknesses and shit. It's pathetic, but that's what gives him his edge.' Bakugo said, scowling to himself.

'So if he knows everybody's weaknesses then how do we beat him?' Hagakure asked.

'I don't know about you weaklings, but I'm just going to blast him. His fucking gas won't help If I'm right on top of him!' Bakugo declared, eyes alight with energy as he thought about finally giving Deku his just desserts.

'That's quite a theory you have Bakugo.'

Everyone turned to the end of the table. It was Todoroki.

'But I have one question. Why? Why would Midoriya go through so much trouble?' Todoroki asked quietly. Bakugo pushed away from the table and stared back at him.

'Because his whole life Deku has wanted to be a hero. He's always dreamed of going to UA and becoming All Might's sidekick or some stupid shit. But when he found out he had no quirk, he had to settle for the support department instead. He knew he could never pass the hero program entrance exam so he’s been biding his time, waiting for his chance to worm his way into the hero department some other way. I bet he thinks that if he wins the Sports Festival they'll transfer him over to the hero program.'

Everyone was silent as they thought it through. It all seemed to make perfect sense.

'Gee, after all the work he's put in, maybe he deserves it.' Kirishima said, in a tone bordering respect.

'Oh? Then why don't you tell Aizawa that, porcupine? I'm sure he'll be happy to transfer you. Remember, our class is full. So if Deku comes in, one of you losers is out. Get it?'

Everyone was silent again. Their minds whirling. It wasn't like they hadn't all dreamed of being heroes since the day they were born either. It wasn't like they didn't work their asses off too. It was decided. Izuku must not be allowed to advance in the tournament.

'Hey, where's Todoroki?' Mina asked.

Class 1-A looked around the cafeteria but he was gone.

* * *

Izuku sat across the thin railing overlooking the parking lot and gazed towards the skyline of Musutafu. He wondered what Weasel was doing right now. Was he running around his apartment like a madman, banging on his neighbours' doors while shouting the good news? Or was he phoning all the bookies he knew, confirming their bets? Whatever the case, he was sure that when they met later he was going to get an earful.

With a contented sigh Izuku opened up his lunch bag and retrieved his left-over pork cutlet sandwich. The hard part was over. All he needed to do now was just ride out the third round. Of course, if he was able to make it to the podium, he would get triple the money, but he didn't want to think about that. Just as he was about to take a bite, he sensed someone approaching from behind him. He stared longingly at his sandwich for a second before setting it down on his lap. Hopping off the balcony railing, he waited for the person to show themselves.

To his surprise the person who appeared in the doorway was Shoto Todoroki.

'There you are.' Todoroki said as he walked out on to the balcony, 'You weren't with your classmates in the cafeteria.'

'N-No. I, uh, brought my own lunch.' Izuku said, lifting his sandwich helpfully. In truth he had thought about sitting with them, but he decided he wanted some privacy. It had been a busy morning.

'Oh. Huh.' Todoroki said moving to stand beside him, 'Congratulations so far in the tournament. I don't think anybody expected the support department to get this far. Bakugo was telling me that you're the one behind the fire extinguishing attack during the first event. Is that true?'

Izuku gulped, 'M-Me? No! I mean…well…yeah I knew everybody's weaknesses and I might have made a few suggestions here and there but I didn't design the weapons themselves _per se_.'

Todoroki was silent as Izuku stammered out his excuses, cool skepticism written across his face.

'I see.' he said finally, 'I guess we all underestimated you. Listen, I didn't come here to threaten you or anything, Midoriya. I just wanted to tell you that I respect you. And if we are matched up against each other, I will take the fight seriously.'

Todoroki gave him one last glance before walking back out the doorway and out of view. Izuku looked after him for a moment before hopping back on the railing.

_He's "taking the fight seriously"? Hopefully he doesn't burn my hair off._ He thought as he took a bite of his sandwich.

* * *

An hour later Izuku was standing in the prep room checking over his gear. After lunch had ended, Midnight had told him that he was going to be fighting in the first match of the day. His opponent was the acid slinging, ditzy, loudmouth Mina Ashido. By all accounts she didn't amount to much in the brains department, but her quirk was strong and she had ranked highly in the class 1-A fitness tests. Underestimating her would be a serious mistake. Thankfully, she had a glaring weakness that he could exploit.

He double checked his satchel. Everything was set. Taking a deep breath, he regarded himself in the mirror. What he saw caused him to giggle. With his grenades, utility belt, nightstick and empty holster he looked ridiculous.

_I should try to win this round. I don't need to, but I should try. I was the one who designed the acid neutralization bomb after all._

While he stood there, the door to the room opened and he turned to face the newcomer. It was Power Loader.

'Mr. Maijima!' he said, taken aback. He hadn't seen his teacher since the event started.

'Midoriya, it's time. Are you ready?'

'Y-Yes, sir!'

'Good. Follow me then.'

He accompanied Power Loader through the halls and down a flight of stairs. As they walked, he found himself repeatedly adjusting his utility belt and satchel bomb. Even though he didn't need to win, his fellow classmates were looking up to him and he didn't want to let them down. They had their own matches to fight after his and how would it look if he just got destroyed in the first round? Besides, the extra money would definitely come in handy.

_I shouldn’t just throw in the towel. As long as I’m careful, I’m sure I can make it to the podium without revealing I have powers._

Power Loader must have sensed something as he inclined his head towards him.

'Are you nervous?'

'No.' Izuku lied automatically. There was really no other appropriate response.

'Hm. Good. Just stay alert Midoriya and you'll do fine.'

Coming to the bottom of the stairwell, he found himself at the start of the long ramp leading into the stadium. Echoing down the concrete corridor, he could hear the dim rumbling of tens of thousands of spectators. The ceiling itself seemed to be shaking with their clamour. Power Loader gestured with his arm towards the sunlight at the end of the tunnel.

'Good luck.' he said before turning around and climbing back up the stairs. Izuku watched him disappear before turning back towards the ramp. Slowly he started to walk towards the light, each step magnifying the sound of the fearsome energy above him.

* * *

Izuku exited out the tunnel and walked stiff legged towards the central stage where Midnight and Mina were already waiting. As he walked, he was buffeted by cheers and shouts while cameras swirled overhead recording his every step. About halfway to the stage he suddenly became painfully aware of his gangly arms but he resisted the urge to start swinging them.

Even though he was alone, he didn't feel the same nervousness he had when he had first entered the stadium.

_I guess after you've been humiliated once on national TV, you kind of build up a resistance to it._

After crossing the grass, he climbed up a short set of steps to the grey, square concrete dais that was to be the battleground for the matches. The fighting space was gigantic; fifty metres by fifty metres. Plenty of room for a prolonged match, though he wasn't planning on one.

There were two teachers waiting for him. Midnight who stood in the middle of the square and Cementoss who was seated in a solid concrete chair just outside of the arena.

Izuku turned his attention to Mina. She looked determined as ever though he couldn't help but notice that she was paler than usual. It could just be a trick of the light, but the way her chest was heaving told him that she was likely just as nervous as he was.

_She probably doesn't want to look like an idiot either. The slightest screw up and we'll be the laughing stock of the internet for the next week._

'Alright contestants.' Midnight said once the pair had stopped advancing, 'The rules for the fighting tournament are simple, but absolute. For you and your opponent's safety you will follow them to the letter.' she said looking between the two, 'Understood?'

'Yes, ma'am.' Izuku and Mina said in unison.

'Alright. The first rule is that if at any time myself or Cementoss calls an end to the fighting, you will both immediately stand down and await further instructions. Understood?'

'Yes, ma'am.'

'Good. Next, victory is decided by ring out, forcing your opponent to surrender, knocking your opponent unconscious, or immobilizing your opponent. Do you understand?'

'Yes, ma'am.'

'Then you may advance to the black painted line.'

Midnight gestured to the line and he and Mei started to walk towards their respective starting positions located on opposite sides of the square. As he neared his line, he saw Mina roll up her sleeves.

_Good. The more exposed skin the better._

Upon reaching their positions they stopped and the stadium grew quiet. It was a surreal experience. Being surrounded by tens of thousands of people who were just watching. The silence was broken by Midnight who called out to them.

'I will count three, two, one, go. Ready? Three.'

'Two.'

'One.'

'…'

'Go!'

As soon as the word was given the stadium erupted into cheers as Mina charged. Midstep her arms became covered in a milky white film that spread down to her hands. Rushing forward, she raised them up at her sides. While she approached Izuku unslung the strap of the satchel around his shoulders and readied himself. Taking hold of the black cord that dangled off from the satchel, he waited for her to come within range.

As she moved, a droplet of the white substance dripped off of her and splattered on the concrete. A plume of smoke rose from where it landed, instantly burning a hole into the arena floor. Izuku's eyes widened at the sight.

_Holy shit! If she splashes me with that stuff, I could be turned into a puddle in seconds!_

Deciding that she had come close enough, he yanked the black cord and hurled the satchel by its strap towards her. It lobbed through the air, spinning end over end as it flew. Mina looked at it uncertainly for a half second before flicking her arms towards it. A splash of deadly acid coated the device and it immediately started smoking an acrid black. However, the pack was not destroyed and instead continued on towards her. She raised her arms defensively and attempted to dodge away, but before she could move it exploded in the air in front of her.

Izuku's view of her was temporarily obscured in a thick white cloud of what looked to the audience like flour. The stadium went silent and Izuku watched breathlessly.

_Did it work?_

A moment passed. And then another. Just as Izuku started to reach for one of his grenades, he heard a terrible wailing scream come from within the cloud. Charging out of the white dust was Mina. She was wildly flailing her now foam-covered arms while running around in circles, screaming at the top of her lungs. After a second of this stunning performance she dropped to the concrete and started rolling back and forth.

'Get it off! Get it off! Get it off! Aaahhh!' she screeched, trailing a puddle of bubbling water as she slid around like some sort of diseased snail. Suddenly from off stage a jet of water activated and began spraying her down and immediately her cries of anguish ceased.

Izuku merely stood there slack jawed. After a moment he snapped his mouth shut and quickly did some mental chemistry.

_I have no idea what kind of acid she creates, but I can guess its pH based on how it reacted with the concrete. Judging by the amount of water that formed during the reaction, the heat of enthalpy must have been enormous! Let me think…carry the four…_

Before he could approximate the energy released from neutralizing Mina's acid however, Midnight interrupted his train of thought.

'Um, winner by surrender: Izuku Midoriya!'

The stadium erupted into cheers and Izuku was startled at the sudden burst of sound. He had briefly forgotten that there was an audience.

As the crowd cheered, he glanced over to where Mina was laying. She looked like she wished she could dissolve away into the concrete. The gym uniform she was wearing was in tatters and her usual bubble gum coloured skin was now bone white.

'G-Good fight!' Izuku shouted to her.

He thought he saw her mouth something in response but he couldn't hear her over the crowd. Turning, he walked back over to the exit tunnel, waving in a way that he hoped didn't seem cocky.

* * *

Meanwhile several kilometres away Ruriko was sitting in her crowded apartment with the rest of her family watching the games.

'Ha!' Ruriko shouted triumphantly, 'Ya'see? I told you Deku would win!'

'How though? What was that bomb thing he threw?' her mother asked puzzled.

'Probably a base or something to neutralize the acid.' Ruriko said smugly. Her brothers rolled their eyes behind their matching sunglasses. She had become such a know-it-all ever since she got into high school.

'Is that allowed?' her father asked frowning as Izuku walked off stage.

'I suppose it must be dear. Otherwise they wouldn't have allowed him to use it.' Ruriko's mother said back.

Her father shook his head disapprovingly, 'Back in my day, it was about quirks versus quirks. Skill versus skill. Nowadays they're letting people in with weapons to try and level the playing field. Makes no sense if you ask me.'

Ruriko ignored him.

_Come on Deku! You show 'em! Quirks don't count for everything!_

* * *

After his match, Izuku was directed back to the support department class's private viewing balcony where all his classmates were seated for the duration of the games. Immediately upon entering the gallery, he was hailed by his fellow students for his victory.

'Izuku! You did it! Great job!' Mei said as he was pressed on all sides by his classmates.

'Thanks, Mei!' he said, grinning back.

'Of course, your satchel bomb thing was a little pedestrian if I may say so myself. Who chose that colour, Izuku? And why didn't you make the foam have colours too? You must put more thought into presentation.' she said haughtily.

'I'll keep that in mind.' Izuku returned laughingly. Taking his seat, he turned to the others, 'So, who's next?'

'It's Todoroki versus that weird kid, Shinso.' Kiska said before taking a slurp from her drink, 'I still don't know what his quirk is.'

'Shinso is doomed. There's no way he can beat Todoroki. Not in a million years.' Bukimi said as he stretched comfortably in his seat.

The other support department students voiced their agreement, but Izuku kept silent. For some reason Shinso put him on edge. His spider sense told him that there was something dangerous about the purple kid.

'We'll just have to wait and see.' he mumbled.

He took his seat and tried not to blush while the others returned to complimenting him on his win. Thankfully the conservation was broken a few minutes later by the cheering stands as Todoroki and Shinso entered the arena.

'Oh, boy!' Here come the fireworks!' Kiska said eagerly, rubbing her hands together in glee, 'I heard that Todoroki can…like…well. Let's just wait and see!'

Izuku watched intently as the two boys took their positions on the black painted line. Shinso seemed to be confident enough. But why? What quirk could Shinso have that could compete with Todoroki?

'One…two…three…begin!' shouted Midnight swishing her whip down.

Izuku and the rest of the stadium gripped their armrest’s in anticipation for the fireworks, but nothing happened. The two boys were just standing there. A few seconds passed and the stadium broke out into confused murmuring as everyone wondered what was going on.

'Are-are they talking?' Bukimi asked, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hands, 'They are! What gives?'

Izuku frowned. His spider-sense was twitching like crazy. Something was happening down there. Suddenly, Todoroki spun around and started marching back towards the entrance ramp. Shinso remained motionless in the centre of the ring, watching his opponent's back as he walked away.

'What? What's happening?' Mei said jumping out her seat, 'What are they doing?! Dance, monkeys! Dance!'

Mei was hardly alone in her sentiment and the crowd started booing, but Todoroki continued unimpeded. Eventually he crossed over the threshold of the arena and went out of bounds. The crowds booing intensified as everyone rallied against Todoroki. They had wanted to see him unleash his power. Was this some form of protest?

'Shoto Todoroki is out of bounds! Hitoshi Shinso wins!'

'What the hell was that?' shouted Kiska incredulously, 'What a gip!'

'Mei!' Izuku said, grabbing her arm, 'You must have seen something, what did Shinso say to Todoroki? What is he doing?'

Everyone turned to her.

Mei shrugged helplessly, 'I don't have a clue! Todoroki just started marching as soon as they were done talking. And now Todoroki is just standing there, blinking like zombie! This is bizarre!'

Izuku slumped back in his seat as he tried to figure out what he had just witnessed.

_They were talking and then Todoroki just gave up? Did he convince him to surrender? What did he say?_

'What the hell is Shinso's quirk? How did he beat Todoroki?'

Everyone in the competition was repeating that same question, but nobody had an answer. How had he done it? How?

* * *

The next few matches progressed without anything unusual happening with the exception of Bakugo versus Hagakure (it had taken them a while to discover that Bakugo had in fact won). Before long, the matches ticked down until it was Mei's first fight. Her versus the president of class 1-A, Momo.

'Alright, Mei. Career opportunity of a lifetime. Don't choke!' Mei muttered to herself as she left the booth. Izuku and the others offered her words of encouragement, but she barely acknowledged them.

'I hope she has a plan for dealing with Momo. She's going to need something unique and wild otherwise Momo will just copy her.' Saigo said.

Izuku nodded. From the corner of his eye he noticed Hiretsuna was about to say something, but then she quickly went silent again.

_I really wish she would just talk. It's not like any one of us would have done anything differently if we were in her shoes during the cavalry battle._

But he also said nothing. This was one area where he had no idea of how to proceed. Motivating Moyashi had been easy. He had understood what Moyashi was feeling after all, but Hiretsuna was a different animal entirely.

His fretting was interrupted by the sound of the crowd cheering once again. Down below, Mei was strutting, with her shining silver jet boots, backpack, and goggled headgear towards Momo who likewise walked on. Albeit warily.

'I don't know why she's wearing her jet boots. They can't generate enough lift to leave the ground, just suspend you in the air for a short while.' Moyashi said.

'Hopefully Momo doesn't beat up Mei too badly.' Bukimi added, laughing nervously before trailing off into an apprehensive silence.

Once Mei and Momo had taken their positions. Midnight began her countdown. Despite himself, Izuku felt himself start to get worried. Momo was almost a half a head taller, was an award-winning athlete, and had supposedly been training in martial arts for years. Mei on the other hand had, by her own admission, never even seen a fight first hand, much less been in one.

_This is going to get ugly._ Izuku thought just as Midnight finished her countdown.

'Go!' Midnight shouted.

Immediately, the skin on Momo's arms flashed bright pink. From the pink light pouring from her body sprouted a shield in her left arm and a staff in her right. The light lasted for only half a second before she was armed. Raising her shield in front of her, Momo ran forward towards Mei, staff poised to strike.

Mei still hadn't moved. She seemed to fumbling with her headset.

'Move Mei! Snap out of it!' shouted Bukimi. Izuku felt his face start to pre-emptively wince as Momo drew closer, her staff drawing back for a thrust. Suddenly Mei's voice came on over the stadium speakers.

'Testing…testing…one, two, three.' her voice rang out.

Izuku and the others looked at each other in disbelief.

'She's hacked the announcer's box!' Izuku exclaimed in disbelief, 'What is she-'

'Ladies and gentleman, greetings! My name is Mei Hatsume and I would like to have a moment of your time please.'

Down in the arena, Momo had canceled her attack and seemed to be hesitating. The stadium's roaring cheers had broken apart into a low buzzing. Everyone was looking at each other in bewilderment.

Izuku groaned.

_Is she serious?_

When Mei had said she wanted to use the tournament to sell her gadgets he figured she meant by beating her opponent, not by giving a live commercial!

And yet that is exactly what she proceeded to do.

* * *

Present Mic howled in displeasure at his computer screen, furiously tapping at the keyboard in vain.

'Why isn't it opening up the audio systems! Windows 23, why do you…Suck! So! Much! Argh!' Present Mic growled, grabbing the monitor as though to strangle it. Aizawa merely rolled his eyes.

'I knew you shouldn't have plugged in that USB you found.' Aizawa remarked dryly.

'You're not helping!' Present Mic snarled, 'Call IT! Where's the IT guy?! How do I uninstall a virus? Maybe if I delete my browsing history…?'

Putting his elbow up on the desk, Aizawa rested his head in his hand and sighed. Somehow the “fight" was still going on. Momo was charging in again, staff raised high. With a mighty two-handed sweep, she swung at Mei, but with a touch of a button the support hero was thrown out of harms way. Saved by the telescoping metal pogo-stick like attachments that she had concealed in her backpack. This repeated several times while Mei droned on and on. They really should have put a time limit on the matches.

'This is a farce…' Aizawa said, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes, 'Do you have any aspirin?'

* * *

Meanwhile in the stands, Izuku and his classmates were slouched over in their seats, smartphones in their hands, barely even watching the match in front of them. It had been over fifteen minutes since Mei had started her presentation and they had long since lost interest. Mei's Telescope-o-Matics ™ had launched her into the air where she was now hovering with the use of her jet boots, happily yammering away about her crisis harness. Meanwhile Momo was desperately trying to pull her down with a long-hooked pole.

'Hey Izuku, somebody already uploaded your fight to YouTube.' Bukimi called over.

Izuku perked up.

'What are the comments like?' he asked as he leaned over to look at Bukimi's screen.

'Hey, guys. Guys! I think it's finally over!' Kiska said excitedly and everyone looked into the arena.

'….so in conclusion I would just like to thank you all for your time and wish you a pleasant festival!' Mei said, bowing shakily.

It seemed as though her boots were beginning to struggle to keep her aloft. Adjusting herself, Mei flew over to the boundary of the arena with Momo following her closely below. Likely not wanting to take any chances, Mei flew well outside the boundary before landing. Izuku and the rest of class 1-H joined the smattering of applause as she bowed again to them all.

'Mei Hatsume loses by ring out. Momo Yaoyorozu is the winner.' Midnight announced disdainfully as Mei happily strolled out of the arena. Momo dropped her pole and stared after Mei venomously while she caught her breath. She hadn't managed to land a single hit.

While the applause died away, Saigo entered the booth.

'What happened? Is it over?' Saigo asked.

'Yeah, it's over.' Izuku said, tucking away his smartphone, 'How are you feeling? Are you ready?'

Saigo was fighting next. His opponent, Itsuka Kendo, was the head of class 1-B and they didn't know how powerful she was.

'Oh, yeah! I'm ready. Just you guys watch, I'm going to show everyone that some people in support are ready to fight!'

Izuku and the other support heroes gave a cheer. Mei's antics were starting to make them look bad.

* * *

'Kōun Saigo defeat by knockout. Itsuka Kendo wins!'

The crowd cheered as Kendo bowed graciously. Izuku and his classmates couldn’t hide their disappointment. Saigo had put up a valiant effort, but he was too slow. His net gun had been blocked by Kendo's rapidly expanding hands and he was knocked to the ground before he could ready his other weapons.

From across the stadium they could see Class 1-B celebrating uproariously. In the booth next to them class 1-A was also joining in, shouting down their own praises to Kendo who waved to them all.

Bukimi shakily got out of his seat, 'W-Well. I'm up next.' he said, swallowing.

Everyone looked at Bukimi who appeared as though he might faint.

‘Um…wish me luck.' he mumbled as he stiffly walked over to the exit.

* * *

'Kōmori Bukimi is out of bounds! Fumikage Tokoyami wins!'

The students of class 1-H groaned. Even though they had deduced Tokoyami's weakness to bright light, Bukimi had failed to throw a single flare. Tokoyami was just too fast.

'Well. We all knew it was a long shot.' Kiska said glumly, 'Looks like it'll be up to you, Izuku.'

'Go down swinging' Saigo mumbled past his swollen lips, shifting the ice pack that was braced against his face. Izuku could only nod before leaving his seat and making his way to the exit.

The first bracket of fights was over and it was going to be much more difficult now.

* * *

Izuku stopped before the black line on the arena floor; staring wide eyed at Momo who was glaring daggers back at him. Her jaw was set as she clenched then unclenched her hands. He could practically feel the aggression boil off of her.

_Why is she staring at me like that? Mei’s the one who made her look bad._

'Alright, you two know the rules.' Midnight said, raising her whip, 'On the count of three, ready?'

'Three.'

'Two.'

'One,'

'Go!'

As with her earlier fight against Mei, Momo rapidly created a shield and staff before rushing forward. At the sight of her snarling face, his hand involuntarily went to his nightstick before he stopped himself. He had built the nightstick to take out opponents with enhanced durability and as far as he was aware, Momo had a normal person's resistances.

Instead he charged, meeting her head on. Momo’s face flashed temporarily with surprise at his boldness, but she quickly reacted. As soon as he was in range, she thrust her staff forward; its hard, blunt tip aimed straight at the centre of his chest. He could tell it was a mighty blow, no doubt she intended to end the fight immediately. As it darted through the air, he considered what to do. He had plenty of time.

_Should I duck beneath it? No. She'll probably just smash me with her shield. What are her weapons made of? Probably some low-density composite. Eh, I’ll figure that out later. Maybe I should step around her staff and punch her in the face? That might be for the best. No sense in overcomplicating things._

'Hm _._ '

_Actually, on second thought that’s probably a bad idea. It won't look good for anybody if I break her jaw or knock out some of her teeth. Oh God, what if I crater her face in?! Jeez, that would suck. She’s so hot too. Alright, alright, alright, I’m getting distracted. Focus, Deku, focus! I know. I'll come at her from her weapon arm, sweep her legs, then pin her down. Win by submission. No blood, no broken bones. Nice and easy._

Just as he was about to make his move, he felt a thrill run up his spine. Glancing up towards the staff booths, he spotted a familiar face. It was the thin blonde man! His blue eyes were watching him with rapt attention. Izuku felt the small crease of a frown form on his face.

_Him again! Maybe once I'm done here, I'll go do a little sleuthing. Someone has to know something about that guy._

He switched his attention back to Momo. Her staff had barely moved.

_Dodge, sweep, and pin._

Pivoting on his heel, he let the staff go sailing past him. Momo's eyes began to widen is surprise as she overstepped. Now standing beside her right shoulder, he swept his foot towards her ankle. Before she could process what was happening. his blow knocked her feet out from under her, sending her tumbling down to the concrete.

As she fell, he brought himself down with her. Planting his hands on her shoulders, he lifted his knee and aimed it so that it would land on her neck. As soon as she hit the ground she bounced, shield and staff falling from her hands. Momo gasped, her breath was knocked out from her lungs at the impact. Before she could hit the ground a second time, Izuku's knee pressed into her throat, forcefully pushing her back into the concrete.

Momo tried to breathe, but he had already pinned her. She struggled, desperately raising her hands to grab at his face, but he intercepted them before she could reach him. Pinning her right arm to her side, he twisted his right leg to cover her left arm. All he had to do now was wait.

After a few seconds of futile struggle, Momo's eyes rolled up into the back of her head. She was unconscious. Quickly standing, he backed away from her. It should only take a few seconds for her to recover.

'M-Momo Yaoyorozu is unconscious! Izuku Midoriya wins!' shouted Midnight.

The crowd was stunned for a moment before breaking out into rapturous applause. Izuku waved his arm to the audience as he looked up to where he had seen the thin blonde man. He was still standing there. Quickly averting his eyes, he continued to wave as he made his way back to the ramp.

* * *

Class 1-A looked on gravely as Midnight helped Momo up to her feet. She looked dazed and doubtless her throat was sore, but otherwise she seemed okay.

'Damn.' Kaminari said finally as Momo was led off the stage, 'He beat her instantly.'

'Momo was saying she didn't have a weakness he could exploit, but I guess he knew he could take her in a fist fight if it came down to it.' Kirishima said grimly, 'I wish I could fight him…'

Several of the class 1-A students looked at each other worriedly. When they saw how easily the other support heroes had been taken out they had started to believe that Mina had just been a fluke, but now it didn't look as though things were going to be that easy.

* * *

Izuku kept climbing the stairs up past the student boxes and towards the private booths. Eventually he reached the very top of the stairwell where the staff were seated. Stepping out of the staircase, he nonchalantly walked over to the entrance. Mounted to the door was a large sign that read "Staff Only!”. Trying the doorknob, he discovered it was unlocked.

With a furtive glance behind him, he slipped inside.

Past the door he found himself in a gently curving hallway that seemed to run around the entire lip of the stadium. Every few meters was an open doorway leading into a small private booth. Sensing that the first booth was empty, he entered the small room and looked into the stadium grounds below. Judging by his current position in the stadium and where he had been standing in the arena when he saw the blonde man, he guessed he had to cross about ten or twelve booths to get to where the blonde man was.

Stepping back into the hallway, he began to stealthily make his way forward. Every so often he would come across an occupied booth and he would quickly spring past the door. He didn't know what kind of trouble he would be in if he got caught, but he didn't want to risk it.

As he crept down the line of four-person boxes, he spotted a white space suit with a black bubble helmet through one of the open doors. It was Thirteen.

_Thirteen is back!? I didn't know she had recovered!_

Izuku's brief elation was cut short when he saw she was seated with Power Loader. Getting caught now would not bode well for his detention. Skirting past, he couldn't help but overhear their conversation.

'I bet you Aizawa is green with envy right now!' Thirteen said excitedly.

'Definitely.' Power Loader replied smugly, 'Knowing him, he's probably trying to come up with some reasonable argument to steal Midoriya and Shinso.'

Izuku froze.

'Do you think they would want that?' Thirteen asked.

Power Loader was silent for a moment as he considered the question.

'Probably. All the first years want to be in the hero class, but-'

'But you think Midoriya would do better in support.' Thirteen finished.

'Yes.' he said finally, 'I'm hoping to show him and the others that being in support isn’t so bad. I'm just waiting to hear back from some people.'

Without warning Power Loader began to turn his head Izuku’s way and Izuku quickly sprang up and latched on to the ceiling.

'Anyway, what do you think about Hatsume? She's quite, uh, unique.'

Izuku didn't dare stick around. Scurrying away on all fours across the ceiling, he scampered out of sight. Reaching the door to an empty booth, he let himself drop and snuck inside. Holding his breath, he listened. Just barely he could still hear that Power Loader and Thirteen were still talking.

_Whew! That was a close one._

Suddenly he noticed his surroundings. He was in the blonde man’s room!

Pacing around he saw that besides a few drinks in the cupholders, there was nothing of note. He must have just missed him and whoever his company was. While he debated what to do next, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching. Quickly exiting out into the hall, he made to retreat the way he had come, when he heard voices coming down from the other side of the hall too. He was trapped!

'So when will All Might be making an appearance, Toshinori?' Izuku heard the voice of Ectoplasm, the math teacher, say ‘He’s yet to make his big entrance!’

'Soon.' said a raspy voice from a speaker he didn’t recognize, 'He'll be there for the medal ceremony.'

Izuku looked right then left then up at the ceiling. There was no cover, nowhere to hide. All he could do was retreat back into the private booth.

_Ah, dammit! Why did I have to go snooping? What am I supposed to do now?_

Eyes whirling in their sockets, he scanned every square inch of the room. He could try pressing himself against the wall, but there was no way that would work. Judging from the footsteps, there were at least four people coming his way and in such a small room he would be noticed for sure.

_Maybe I can just say I had a…question? I needed to talk to a teacher? What could I say? I was uncomfortable with fighting? What if-_

He felt cool air against his skin. Looking in its direction, he noticed a small grate just above the floor. Fast stepping over, he popped the cover off and peered inside. The vent was small, almost too narrow to fit his shoulders and it plunged straight down – probably all the way to the basement if he had to guess. Before he could make up his mind about what to do, he heard more voices.

‘You don’t need to push yourself.’ said Ectoplasm from just outside the door, ‘Midnight knows how to entertain a crowd.’

‘No, no. I don’t want to disappoint anyone. I’m sure that-‘

Acting on impulse, he dove into the vent. Squirming his way inside, he hastily reattached the vent grill before releasing his grip and letting himself slide down the metal tube.

_Vents. Always more vents._ He thought as he dropped faster and faster.

* * *

Climbing back up the stairs to the support student's booth, Izuku patted down as much dust as possible from his gym uniform. He was sure his back was still filthy, but it couldn't be helped. Walking into the booth, he greeted his classmates. They all looked over at him in surprise.

'Izuku! Where were you?' Mei said before she stopped and took in his appearance, 'And what happened to your clothes? Why're you so dirty?'

He tried his best to look ashamed.

'Well after the fight I, uh, got lost and found myself in the basement. One thing led to another and I accidently snagged my clothes on some machinery and well…here I am.'

His classmates all exchanged exasperated looks before rolling their eyes and shaking their heads in disapproval.

'Ugh, you're such a doofus. Well come on.' she said pulling him down into his seat, 'You missed some fights! Bakugo took out Kendo, and Shinso advanced as well. After this round it's the semi-finals!'

'Oh.' Izuku said, blinking. He had been lost in the vents for longer then he thought. 'Well okay, who's fighting now?'

'Its Tokoyami against that vine girl Shiozaki from class B.' Mei said, 'The match is set to begin at any moment now. We were all just betting on who is going to win.'

'Are you a betting man, Izuku? Who do you favour?' Bukimi asked.

'Hmmm.' Izuku murmured while he rubbed his chin in consideration, 'Shiozaki.' he declared, 'I think her vines are stronger than Tokoyami's shadow bird…thing.'

'Alright, I'll take that bet. Mark Izuku down for ten thousand yen.' Bukimi said to Saigo who nodded.

He looked back at them in alarm.

'Erm-' he started, but Kiska interrupted him.

'Look! The match is starting!' she hissed.

Izuku suddenly felt anxious. He didn't have a thousand yen much less ten thousand. Just as he was about to tell Bukimi to cancel the whole thing he suddenly remembered the money he had already won from his bets with Weasel. Even after paying his billion to the information broker he would still have more than enough to cover his bet with Bukimi.

Turning his attention down to the stage, he watched as the two fighters approached each other. After a moment, Midnight cracked her whip and the fight was on.

Immediately the two attacked each other. Tokoyami with his dark spectral projection and Shiozaki with her whipping hair vines.

'Come on Tokoyami! Take her down! Come on!' Saigo, Moyashi, and Bukimi chorused.

Tokoyami's bird dodged around the vines and rushed towards Shiozaki. Suddenly caught off guard, she tried to rally her defences but it was too late. She was being forced back.

'Fight Shiozaki! Fight! What are you doing?! Argh!'

Kiska, Mei, and Izuku shook their heads in disappointment as Shiozaki was grabbed and tossed backwards. Tumbling end over end, she fell out of the ring.

'Winner by ring out: Tokoyami!'

Bukimi turned over to the three, an enormous shit-eating grin on his face.

'Well, well, well. That'll be thirty thousand yen please.'

'I'll pay you back next time we see each other.' Izuku said sourly.

'I tell you what, Izuku. If you beat your next opponent, I'll consider us square.'

'Deal!'

Everyone waited with baited breath for the order of the semifinals matches to be announced. While they waited, Izuku spotted Bakugo on the other end of the stadium pointing at him, then making a motion across his throat with his finger. Izuku grinned and made a heart with his hands. He held it over his chest for a second, before pointing at Bakugo and smiling dopily. What followed was an arms race of increasingly elaborate hand gestures and nonverbal insults until finally Midnight appeared back on the stage.

'Everyone may I have your attention please. Unfortunately, we are still experiencing some technical difficulties (Mei let out an amused snort) so I will be announcing the order for the semi-finals. The first match will be…'

Izuku leaned forward, eyes wide with anticipation.

'Izuku Midoriya versus Hitoshi Shinso! And the second match will be Katsuki Bakugo versus Fumikage Tokoyami!'

'Huh.' Izuku said nonplussed, 'Okay.'

Before he could say anything else, his classmates quickly crowded around him with their advice.

'Izuku what ever you do, don't look him in the eye! I heard at lunch that he hypnotizes people!'

'No, I heard it's his voice! He brainwashes you with his voice!'

'Wear a gasmask Izuku! It's a pheromone! If you breath it in, he can control you!'

'D-Do you really think he mind controls people?' Izuku asked the group as he felt his spider-sense flare.

Everyone looked at each other uncertainly. Truth was that they had heard all sorts of things, but one detail was always the same. The people he was fighting had all hesitated before they attacked.

'Just-just don't think about it and do your best.' Mei said.

* * *

Izuku silently ran through his strategies while Power Loader led him towards the arena. Several times it looked like his teacher was going to say something, but each time he seemed to change his mind. Eventually he just wished him luck before leaving him at the ramp.

Walking out to the arena, he saw that Shinso was already waiting for him. Without being prompted Izuku went to his spot on the black line. As a precaution, he avoided making eye contact with Shinso and instead looked up at the stands. As he did he felt his spider sense throb. The blonde man was back. Watching him.

While he was distracted by the blonde man, Shinso began talking.

'So you're the famous Izuku Midoriya.' Shinso said in a disdainful tone, Izuku could practically hear his lip curl, 'I must say I'm unimpressed.'

Izuku blinked and directed his attention back to Shinso.

_What did I do to you?_

'Contestants are you ready?' Midnight said, 'On the count of three…'

'Three.'

'Say, Izuku can I ask you a question?'

'Two…'

'Its about your secret.'

Izuku raised his eyebrows questioningly.

'One'

'Is it true that you're a cheater?'

'Go!' Midnight shouted.

Caught of guard by the question, he opened his mouth to respond, his lips forming words but he found that he couldn't talk. The buzzing of his spider-sense had become a tangible thing; a sound that was emanating from his very skull, drowning out the crowd and setting his nerve endings on fire. It was a feeling of such intense sensation that it bordered on pain.

_What is this feeling? Am I being mind controlled?_

Gasping, he jerked his head down and looked at his hand. He lifted it, flexing his fingers.

_I can still move my hand…_

'Deku!'

Izuku snapped his eyes back up. The nickname was strange coming out of Shinso's mouth. It had no meaning coming from him. Ever since he went to UA the only person to call him Deku was Bakugo…

'Deku! Answer my question! Are you a cheater or not?!'

He realized his mouth was open and he immediately shut it.

_He almost sounds like he’s trying to do a Bakugo impression right now. Is he trying to provoke me or something?_

'Deku! Izuku! Answer my question! Why won't you answer me?!'

Wordlessly he started walking towards Shinso. He didn't know what was going on, but as long as he could move, he could fight.

Shinso took a half step back before he again shouted something, but Izuku couldn't understand him. He could only hear the buzzing in his head. Shinso stopped backing up and uncertainty flashed over his face, his purple eyes narrowing. After a moments indecision he suddenly brought up his fists and charged.

Shinso's attack was ferocious, desperate, but ultimately clumsy. More primal than anything else, the transformation from cool and calm to savage berserker would have been shocking if Izuku hadn't seen it over a dozen times already. Few things could compare to a fiending Trigger junky that had finally gone off the deep end.

Shinso lunged, hands clawing for his throat. Before Shinso could reach him, Izuku swung out with a right hook straight to the boy's chin. It was a clean hit and upon connecting his purple eyes went dim. Shinso's momentum carried him forward and he collided with Izuku, staggering him, but he held his ground and Shinso collapsed at his feet, unconscious.

Izuku carefully backed away from his crumpled opponent.

_Is that it?_

Apparently it was.

'Winner by knockout punch: Izuku Midoriya!' shouted Midnight.

He raised his fist in triumph amidst the deafening cheers of the crowd. To his relief his spider-sense had stopped tingling.

_That wasn't so bad!_ He thought as he walked back towards the ramp. _Why couldn't the others beat him? Shinso was actually pretty weak all things considered._

* * *

Todoroki lowered his eyes as Midnight declared the winner. Midoriya was victorious and in turn he was twice shamed. Once for losing to an opponent who wasn't the champion; and again for his opponent being defeated in a fist fight with the weakest person in the school. Or so he had believed. Forcing himself to look back up, Todoroki brought his hands together in polite applause as Midoriya cheerily waved to the crowds.

He really thought that Shinso was unbeatable. He didn't know how he had lost, but after seeing the replay of his match, he had started to believe the rumours – that Shinso could control minds. But if that were the case then how come Midoriya won? Did he have more willpower? Was his mind stronger?

Todoroki clasped his hands together and rested them on his lap. His father, the renowned, noble, stoic, heroic, Endeavour, was somewhere in the stadium - fuming. When he had first lost his father had cornered him on the way back to his seat and had been apoplectic with rage. He had accused him of throwing the fight out of spite. He had denied this of course. Not out of fear, but because he couldn't stand the idea of his father thinking of him as being weak. He'd _wanted_ to win.

But maybe he really was weak. What could he say in defence of himself now? That Midoriya was somehow more powerful? Ridiculous. More intelligent maybe, but…

He couldn’t understand it. Midoriya must have discovered Shinso's secret and was able to protect himself somehow. Bakugo said that he was a deep thinker and a strategist, maybe for once he hadn’t been exaggerating?

Todoroki took a deep breath and held it before exhaling slowly. For now, he would just have to deal with his father, but sooner or later he would discover what Midoriya had done.

* * *

Izuku returned to his booth to the accolades of his fellow support heroes. When they asked him how he had managed to win he had responded truthfully with: "I dunno."

Naturally they found this explanation unsatisfactory but he kept to his story no matter how they pried him. Eventually he just shrugged.

'Maybe he does have a mind control quirk. Who knows? All I know is that if he does, it didn't activate. He must need to fulfill a very specific set of circumstances for it to work.' he said.

Mei and the others wanted to continue questioning him, but they were thankfully interrupted by Midnight announcing the next match.

Tactful as always, Bakugo stomped out across the ring towards Tokoyami who calmly walked out opposite of him. Izuku and his classmates didn't bother speculating on who would win this match up. Based on their research, Tokoyami's weakness was bright flashing lights and Bakugo created explosions. Needless to say, nobody offered any bets.

The battle was over quickly. With Tokoyami's quirk weakened under repeated barrages from Bakugo's blasts, Tokoyami was forced to concede defeat. All that was left was the championship match.

* * *

In the ready room, Izuku was titled back in his chair, legs up on the table. Twiddling his thumbs, he stared vacantly at the ceiling fan as he pondered the upcoming match. The moment he heard that Bakugo was going to fight Tokoyami he knew what was going to happen. Izuku didn't want to win - he knew that he didn't deserve to - he just wished it wasn't Bakugo who beat him.

He may not have wanted to win, but he couldn't stomach losing either.

_I guess this is my punishment for lying to everybody._ Izuku thought as his eyes tracked a spinning ceiling fan blade. _I'm not sure why my karmic balance is still in the red though. You'd think all the good I do would have earned me some good fortune by now._

He sat back up in his chair and sighed. He needed to focus on the big picture. Once he had the money from Weasel, he was going to meet up with Knuckleduster and arrange a meeting with the information broker. Then he would track down the League of Villains and bring them to justice. That was the plan anyway.

_I just hope Weasel made the right bets._

He heard footsteps approaching the door. No doubt it was Power Loader coming to fetch him. Straightening in his chair, he waited for him to enter. The door opened and Power Loader poked his head inside.

'Midoriya. It's time. Are you ready?' Power Loader asked.

'Yes.' he said, standing up from his chair.

Exiting the room, the pair started to walk together towards the stairwell. Izuku noticed Power Loader seemed a little twitchy. Obviously, something was on his mind. Eventually it seemed he couldn't stop himself and he spoke.

'You know Izuku, you're the first one of my first-year students to get so far in the Sports Festival. Well done. I can see that you have a great future ahead of you.'

Izuku swallowed. This wasn’t helping his guilt.

'Um…thanks.'

'Not just you. All of you have gone above and beyond my expectations. Win or lose, I want you to know that.'

Izuku just nodded. He wasn't sure what he could say. They continued together in silence again as they got nearer to the ramp. Coming to the end of the hall, Power Loader turned to him.

'Your gear isn't well suited to fight Bakugo, Midoriya.' he said bluntly.

Izuku was taken aback. He had expected Power Loader to just wish him good luck and send him on his way.

'Y-Yeah. I know. Me and Bakugo grew up together so I know his quirk really well.'

Power Loader fixed him with a steely gaze.

'I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but there's no point in injuring yourself unnecessarily. If you find the fight getting too one sided, just signal to the refs. Remember, what I said about taking risks.'

Izuku felt his face go red slightly at Power Loader's words but he managed to keep his voice normal.

'I understand, Mr. Maijima.'

Turning away, Izuku started off alone down the ramp. As he went, he noticed a bitter taste in his mouth. He wasn't aiming to win, so why did he feel so angry? The money was all that mattered, not some childish tournament.

_It just had to be Bakugo._

* * *

Izuku paced over to the black starting line while watching Bakugo do the same. Bakugo had a devious little smile on his face as he examined Izuku from top to bottom, taking in all his equipment. What he saw must not have worried him too greatly as Izuku noticed his infuriating smile get a little wider.

'You have no idea how much I've been looking forward to this, Deku.' Bakugo said, flexing his hands, 'Ever since that day back at Aldera, remember? Oh, yes. I've been waiting for this.'

Despite his best efforts to be the better man, Izuku sneered back, 'Yeah. Yeah, I remember that fight. I let you off easy!'

Bakugo let out a sharp bark of laughter and Midnight looked between the two warily.

'You let _ME_ off easy?! Well I tell you what, nothings holding you back here is there? Go crazy! I see you've got those little firecrackers with you and a little baton too. How cute.'

Izuku gritted his teeth, 'If it weren't for all these stupid rules _protecting you_ Kacchan -'

Bakugo rolled his eyes, 'Yes, yes. Very scary. You know, if it was up to me, I would let you build anything you wanted. Then you'd have no excuses for when I show everybody how weak and pathetic you are.'

'Boys!' Midnight said sharply, 'Keep it civil! This is not a brawl! Remember the rules! If at anytime I call an end to the fighting the match is over!'

'Yes, ma'am.' Bakugo said, smirking.

'Yeah.' Izuku muttered darkly as he cracked his knuckles.

'I tell you what, Deku. I'm not going to be-' Bakugo stopped speaking and he glanced at Midnight and Cementoss. They were both regarding the pair seriously. Whatever he was about to say he must have reconsidered it as he quickly closed his mouth and shook his head. Both of the boys were silent, but Izuku knew what Bakugo was going to say.

_“I’m not going to be holding back.” Oh, is that so Kacchan? If that’s the case, then maybe I shouldn’t either?_

'Ladies and Gentlemen, here competing for first place are this year's champions. Izuku Midoriya…'

The crowd cheered loudly at his name and he raised his hand in acknowledgement.

'…and Katsuki Bakugo!'

The crowd cheered again but Bakugo didn't react. Izuku could practically see the wheels in Bakugo's mind turning. No doubt he was visualising his opening offensive.

'I'm going to go over the rules now boys. I don't want either of you complaining when the fight is over and there will be no excuses if there is any sign of foul play. Get me? So remember…'

He and Bakugo listened impatiently to the rules, nodding when they were supposed to. However, they never let their eyes leave each other.

Once Midnight finished reciting the rules she looked over to Cementoss. He stirred in his concrete chair, hands gripping his armrests. After a moment he nodded.

'On the count of three, two, one, go. Ready? Three…Two…One…Go!'

Immediately Bakugo opened his palms and let loose an explosive blast. Diving to the side, Izuku barely managed to dodge the flames, though the shockwave still smashed into him like a tonne of bricks. Flying backward, he drew his nightstick and threw it as hard as he dared. The nightstick spun end over end as it hurtled towards Bakugo's face.

Bakugo's eyes widened as he spotted the projectile spinning towards him. With a complicated gesture he angled his hand and blasted upward. The explosion rocked the air surrounding the nightstick, destabilizing its flight and causing it to warble past his face, missing his ear by mere millimetres.

He saw a harsh grin form on Bakugo's face as the projectile flew by. Leveraging his palm again, Bakugo let out another explosion. This time he couldn't escape and the blast hit him full on. He briefly became a pretzel as the force from the explosion snapped back his limbs and the heat crackled his skin. The next thing he knew he was hitting the ground hard, tumbling into a tangled mess.

With a groan, he flipped himself over just in time to see Bakugo preparing to unleash another blast.

_I need to catch my breath! Buy myself some time._

Grabbing one of his smoke grenades, Izuku popped the pin and threw it just as Bakugo let loose his blast. Izuku's aim was true but the grenade was flung harmlessly out of the way by the explosion. Again he was tossed up from the concrete and sent hurtling through the air. While he fell Izuku growled in frustration. He needed to recover faster. The way the fight was going he would just be juggled and thrown around until he was eventually tossed out of bounds, assuming he even survived that long.

Suddenly a small voice popped up in his head.

_I thought you planned on losing this fight?_

Ignoring his better judgement, Izuku twisted and angled himself in an extraordinary feat of dexterity so that he could land on his feet. While he was still falling, he grabbed one of his concussion grenades. The blast would be next to useless against Bakugo - he was capable of withstanding the enormous strain of his own explosions after all - but the grenade itself was heavy.

These particular grenades had a variable timer depending on which pin was pulled. The shortest pin would detonate the grenade after only a second. He had originally intended for them to be used against Tokoyami, but they were all he had now.

Pulling the pin, Izuku kept his eyes on Bakugo while he counted the milliseconds. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he whipped the grenade at the blonde boy's head. The grooved metal cylinder whistled through the debris and smoke-filled air straight at its target. Bakugo saw the grenade but before he could raise his hands to intercept it, it smacked into his cheek throwing his head back. A split second later it exploded into a brilliant flash of white light.

Izuku grinned to himself as he saw Bakugo stagger. Stumbling slightly, he prepared to charge forward to capitalize on Bakugo's condition before he suddenly felt something wet on his side. Wiping his hand across his hip, he felt a thick warm liquid. Looking down, he saw that his uniform was perforated with tiny holes. The concrete shrapnel from the explosions was reaping its toll.

_He got me pretty good but I've taken much worse!_

He prepared to take a step forward but before he could move, he felt something click in his head.

_Maybe Spider-Man can take this kind of punishment, but can Deku? You're supposed to lose remember? You’re not fighting for yourself; you’re fighting to stop the League of Villains._

Between the flying shards of concrete and dust, he glanced over at Midnight and Cementoss. Both of them appeared to be on the verge of intervening. Midnight was tearing open her sleeve while a ripple of concrete was pulsing down from Cementoss's chair. The match was already over.

'Aw, screw it.' he muttered.

Going slack on his feet, he let himself trip on his first step. As he fell, he felt that same bitter taste return to his mouth, but he swallowed it down. His pride wasn't worth it.


	24. Just Desserts

As soon as Izuku hit the ground, he heard Midnight call an end to the fight. Laying still on his stomach, he pretended to be unconscious while she rushed to his aid. To his shame he heard the crowd gasp and go silent as he lay there, the extent of his injuries unknown.

_Sorry Mom._ He thought with a pang of guilt. No doubt she was having a panic attack back home.

In a flash, Midnight arrived at his side and flipped him over. Her eyes rapidly went over his injuries with professional efficiency. As she examined him, he acted like he was stirring. Blinking and gasping, he pretended to have difficulty focusing on her.

'Ah…did I lose?' he asked weakly as Midnight wormed her hand to his neck, feeling his pulse.

'Afraid so.' she muttered under her breath, 'But it was a great fight.'

He exhaled and let his head loll back to the ground. He was motionless as she continued her examination. He tried not to squirm as she felt him down for injuries, but he couldn't help but feel himself blush as she touched his chest. When her fingertips began brushing down his sides, he flinched.

‘Sorry.’ Midnight said, ‘I know it hurts. I’ll try and be gentler.’

He merely nodded. Forcing away his giggles with a fit of coughing, he desperately tried to get himself back under control.

_Why did I have to be born so ticklish?_

After what felt like an eternity, she finally withdrew her hands and stood back up.

'You're pretty banged up, Midoriya. Don't move, I'll call over a stretcher.'

'No!' he said sharply and she looked down at him in surprise.

'No.' he repeated, trying his best to sound faint. 'I can walk. I don't want my Mom to see me get carried out of here.'

'Midoriya, you're-' Midnight started, but he had already started to rise.

'What’re you doing?' she hissed, crouching back down to his side.

Ignoring her, he kept rising. She put her hand to his chest and for a moment he could have sworn she was about to force him back to the ground, but she didn't. Instead she snaked her other arm around his shoulder and helped him to his feet.

At the sign of movement, the crowd broke out into applause and cheers. He raised his hand slightly in acknowledgment as he limped alongside Midnight towards the ramp. As he went, he risked a glance over at Bakugo. He was watching him leave, an unreadable expression on his face.

'Stupid!' Midnight muttered and Izuku looked back forward, 'Boys your age are so recklessly stupid! You take everything too seriously!' her voice softened, 'Honestly you're hopeless, Izuku.'

He gulped. He didn't know what to say to that. Instead he just allowed himself to be half carried over to the exit where a wheeled stretcher was waiting just out of sight of the cameras and crowds. Once they got within reach, she gently spun him around and guided him into the stretcher.

'There. You got to look like a tough guy. Happy? Now lay back.' Midnight said as she pushed him down the hallway towards the medical station.

* * *

Throwing open the doors to the medical station, Power Loader strode inside. The brightly lit white room was empty except for Recovery Girl and Midoriya who was laying on the furthermost bed in a row of beds against the wall. Power Loader considered approaching him, but held back when he saw that Izuku was speaking on his cell phone.

'No Mom, I don't have any permanent damage…No…Kacchan's _fine_ Mom…'

Power Loader turned to where the school physician, Recovery Girl, was leaned over her desk comparing a series of x-rays.

'So, how is he?' he asked and Recovery Girl looked up.

'He seems to be recovering remarkably well. Rather than risk healing him completely, I just gave him a minor boost.' she said briskly.

'That's good to hear. He looked pretty bad from the stands.'

'Yes, I know. But what can I say? His body seems to be made of sturdier stuff then usual.'

Power Loader sighed, 'I suppose it would have to be given the stunts he pulls.'

At that Power Loader and Recovery Girl turned to frown disapprovingly over at Izuku. The boy must have noticed something because he quickly transferred his phone to his other hand and shielded his face from them with it.

Power Loader returned his attention back to Recovery Girl and glanced down at the x-ray images on her desk. 'Are these his?' he asked in a lower tone.

'Yes. I…did the test you asked me to. The x-rays were the only test he didn't seem to mind me performing actually.'

'And?'

'Normal. Well, you know what I mean.'

'Hmm.' Power Loader murmured as he examined an x-ray of a foot. Medicine wasn't his strong suit, but he could tell that the toe was double jointed. So Midoriya really was quirkless. While he studied the image, Recovery Girl kept talking.

'Tell you the truth, I was also curious about his vitality so I asked him if I could run some additional tests and he flat out refused! You should have heard him protest when I said I wanted to do his bloodwork.' Recovery Girl tutted and shook her head, 'For all his bravery in the arena, he sure does hate needles.'

'How odd. Midoriya doesn't seem like the squeamish type…'

Satisfied, he left the x-ray photo on her desk and returned his attention to her.

'Well it seems like he's in better shape than I thought.' he said in a louder voice, 'They asked me to see if he could attend the medal ceremony. Do you think he can stand?'

Recovery girl humphed in response.

'Hey! Midoriya!' she snapped and with comical speed Izuku whipped his head their way. 'Do you feel like you can handle having a medal draped around your neck?'

Quickly saying goodbye, Izuku hung up his phone and hopped out of bed. Even though Power Loader had just seen the proof with his own eyes, he still could hardly believe Izuku was powerless. Those blasts were destroying _concrete_.

'Yeah, I think so.' Izuku said, ‘Where do I need to go?’

* * *

While the Sports Festival participants were gathering in the arena, the champions were waiting on their respective podiums beneath the stadium in a large loading bay for their grand entrance. The actual awards ceremony was simple. When the champions were announced, pneumatic elevators would activate and, amidst smoke, pyrotechnics, and confetti, they would rise from the floor of the stadium before the adoring crowds to be presented with their medals.

And so it was that Izuku, Bakugo, and Tokoyami found themselves standing nervously, perched on a faux marble column apiece in the centre of a dark, cavernous room. Besides some camera equipment and a few members of the production crew, the room was empty and oddly silent.

Izuku had been dreading this moment. Standing and smiling before a crowd was in his mind much worse than fighting for one. He pulled some creases from his sleeves. At least they had given him a new uniform. His original suit was little more than shredded tatters.

Izuku stood on the right most podium. To his left was Bakugo whose column stood over half his height taller than his. Around Bakugo's left was the bird boy, Tokoyami on the third-place column. To Izuku's surprise Tokoyami had been able to defeat Shinso too. Apparently, he had just immediately attacked and Shinso had been defenceless. He still had no clue as to the mechanics of Shinso's quirk, but blind aggression seemed to counter it.

_I'll add Shinso to the never-ending list of things to investigate._ Izuku thought as he smoothed out the front of his pants. _I'll put him after that weird buzzing noise I hear in the development studio, but before that mysterious jar of goo at the back of the fridge._

'Grrr…fucking…pictures…Deku…'

Izuku glanced over at Bakugo. He was grumbling again. Izuku playfully nudged his thigh with his elbow.

'Lighten up, Kacchan. Smile! You're the big champion, just like you always wanted.'

Bakugo glared down at him before suddenly subjecting him to a big toothy smile and he recoiled in horror. Before he could say anything, Bakugo looked back up at the pneumatic doors above them, a dull frown on his face.

'Jesus! Never do that again, Kacchan. Spare me and the world!'

'Shut up, Deku.' Bakugo said half-heartedly, 'I'm guessing you've seen the news? Apparently, you're the internet's new darling cripple. The plucky, quirkless, underdog who bravely managed to lose badly and get second place in the Sports Festival. Give me a break.'

He stared up at Bakugo despairingly, 'Aw, are you serious? Great. Now I'm going to get stalked and all these weirdos are going to start following me on social media-'

Bakugo snorted, 'If they make a movie about this Deku, *I* get to pick who plays me, got it? And I want to see the script before hand too.'

Izuku put his face in his hands. He had just remembered all the old photos his mother had of him on her Facebook page.

'Did you know that our Moms watched the games together?' Bakugo asked in a hollow voice.

He looked back up, aghast.

'No!'

'Yeah. Apparently, they were all crying and shit. Talking about the "good" old days.' Bakugo said and they both shook their heads, 'Fucking crazy.'

'They better not be thinking about having a…a dinner or something.' Izuku said forlornly and Bakugo shuddered. It seemed like the sort of thing his mother would suggest.

‘They’d better not. God, did you have to ham everything up so much back there?’

‘Huh?’ he sputtered, ‘I wasn’t-‘

‘Oh, please.’ Bakugo said, rolling his eyes, “Ooh, I’m bleeding! I’m so weak! Ugh, carry me Midnight.” he said in a cruel, but accurate impersonation before scoffing, ‘I see through you, Deku. I know you’re into that gender roll reversal shit.’

‘What?!’ Izuku yelled and the crew started snickering. ‘I-I’m not even- Like, what’re you- J-just -what?!’

Bakugo too joined in the snickering which eventually transformed into full on laughter. Izuku could only stand there, arms crossed as he waited for everyone to get a hold of themselves.

‘Yeah, yeah. Ha. Ha.’ he muttered under his breath, ‘You know on second thought, maybe we should have dinner. My Mom still has that scrapbook she made when we were kids. We can all have a nice sit down, maybe watch some of our old birthday videos-‘

To his satisfaction, that wiped the smile off of Bakugo’s face. Glaring down, Bakugo loomed over him menacingly.

‘Don’t you dare, Deku! I swear if I have to waste one of my evenings-‘

'Excuse me.' Tokoyami interrupted. Bakugo and Izuku looked over at the boy, identical blank looks on their faces. They had forgotten he was there.

'I don't mean to pry, but I was just wondering what-' he began but they both immediately cut him off.

'Mind your own business, beak face.' Bakugo said dismissively.

'Just ignore us.' Izuku followed firmly.

'Oh.'

Looking away from the others, Izuku switched his attention to the broadcasting sample screen on the wall. The commercial break was about to end. Taking a deep breath, he did his best to look lighthearted and carefree. The other two boys similarly tried out differing poses, Bakugo tried looking intimidating and Tokoyami aloof and mysterious.

One of the production crew members noticed them and her face broke into a bemused smirk.

'What are you boys doing?' she asked laughingly and the three rapidly deflated.

'W-What do you mean?' Izuku asked.

The woman just shook her head, a smile still teasing at her lips.

'Nothing. You look good; keep at it. And we're live in three…two…one…'

* * *

'…and here are your tournament champions!' shouted Midnight to raucous applause.

The platforms jerked slightly before slowly rising up to the stadium grounds. Exiting the shaft into a cloud of smoke, Izuku waited in the obscuring cloud as the sound of the crowds built around him. After a few seconds the smoke cleared and the three were exposed to the world. Standing on the stadium floor before them was Midnight and all of their first-year classmates. Izuku spotted his fellows in support waving and shouting encouragements. He raised his hand in acknowledgment and smiled.

'Now we will award the medals!' Midnight said loudly, 'And of course, who better to hand out the medals than…' she raised her whip to the stadium roof and everyone looked up. There was a man standing there with his hands on his hips.

'…our very own… '

'It's All Might!' said several students in the crowd excitedly, Izuku grinned. The man atop the stadium leapt high in the sky.

'…All…' Midnight started.

Landing with a massive gust of wind All Might cried, 'I have the medals!'

'…Might!' Midnight finished.

They had ended up talking over one another.

'Sorry.' mouthed Midnight as All Might looked back at her, his smile straining.

'Uh, anyway! All Might, would you please present the third-place medal!'

'Of course!' All Might said cheerily.

With his characteristic aplomb, All Might marched up to Tokoyami, bronze medal in hand. Quietly, All Might started to talk to the him. Izuku got the sense that his words were intended only for Tokoyami, but even with the sounds of the stadium filling his ears he heard everything.

'You sure are strong.' All Might said as he put the medal around Tokoyami's neck.

'You're too kind.' Tokoyami replied as All Might went in to give him a hug.

'However, in order to fight well against different types of opponents, you must learn to not rely entirely on your quirk. If you train your own strength more, you'll have more options when you fight.'

All Might pulled back and beamed at the him. Tokoyami lifted the medal around his neck and studied it solemnly.

'Yes, sir.'

At that All Might stepped away from Tokoyami and moved over to Izuku. Izuku felt himself go numb as All Might drew in close, a shining silver medal in his hands.

'Young Midoriya, congratulations.' All Might said as he draped the medal around his neck, 'You've played to your strengths in this tournament, using all of your wits and skill to level the playing field. If you continue to develop yourself, you will be a fearsome opponent indeed.'

'Th-Thanks, All Might.' Izuku said, choking back a sob.

'But you must remember not to rush into things. Your ability to outthink your opponents is your greatest asset, not brute strength.'

Izuku nodded. Hastily wiping his face with his sleeve before smiling back. Withdrawing himself, All Might next turned to Bakugo.

'And of course, our gold winning champion, young Bakugo! Congratulations!'

'Thank you.' Bakugo said stiffly.

Izuku knew that tone. He knew Bakugo was as happy as he was right now, Bakugo just didn't want to show it.

'Good job doing what you said you would during the player pledge! But remember, there is more to being a hero then winning fights. Make sure that you continue to grow and develop yourself. Don't become complacent!'

Bakugo nodded and All Might stepped back to address the rest of the students.

'Well, they were the winners this time!' he said, sweeping his arm towards them. 'But listen here: Any one of you could have ended up on these podiums. It's just as you saw – Competing! Improving each other! And climbing even further! The next generation of heroes is definitely sprouting!' All Might declared, pointing up in the air, 'I just have one last thing to say. Everyone, please say it with me!'

Izuku grinned.

'Ready, go….'

'Plus Ultra!' Izuku shouted with the rest of the crowd, pumping his fist in the air. It was after all the UA slogan.

'Thanks for your hard work!' All Might said over them.

'What kind of line was that?' Midnight said, accidently speaking into her microphone.

All Might looked around in confusion.

'What? What did I do?'

* * *

That evening Izuku was barely able to contain his excitement as he swung and leapt his way across town. He’d told his Mom he was going out to celebrate his silver medal with his friends, but really he was on his way to meet Weasel. By now, Weasel should have had more than enough time to collect their winnings from the various underground bookies and casinos across town and as soon as he got his cut, he was going to immediately head on over to his meeting with Knuckleduster.

_Busy, busy, busy! Now that I'm a wealthy man, I simply don't have the time I used to._ Izuku thought giddily. He still didn't know what he would spend his leftover money on.

He would have to keep his fortune a secret from everybody of course. And he couldn't go out and buy anything extravagant for himself either (not that he really wanted anything anyway). Although he was sure he would find some use for the money.

At last he came up on the Mob Donald's parking lot that he and Weasel had agreed to meet in. Besides a few early club goers and some whinos bulking up on calories, there was nobody else in sight. Ducking into an alley, he quickly changed out of his spider-suit and walked out into the lot. He was in a nicer neighbourhood so he wasn't expecting any trouble. Leaning up against a street pole, he pulled out his cracked smart phone and waited.

With an impatient sigh, Izuku jerked his phone out of his pocket and checked the time. He’d been waiting for two hours so far and Weasel still hadn't shown up. What could he possibly be doing? Did he get into some sort of trouble? Was he robbed? He needed answers!

'Hey!' shouted a voice from across the parking lot.

Alarmed, he looked in the direction of the voice. A man he didn’t recognize was stumbling up to him. As if the smell of booze wasn’t enough, the man’s swaying walk clearly told him that this guy was drunk.

'Uh, can I help you?' Izuku asked uncertainly.

The intoxicated man moved closer, his bleary eyes trying to focus. Izuku regarded the man with mild concern as the drunkards lined face twisted and contorted; scrunching up as though he was looking at something particularly foul.

'I recognise youuu!' the drunk bellowed, punctuating his sentence with an aggressive wave, 'Yer that wussy boy that was fuckin' around in the Sportish…Thing!'

Izuku sighed, 'I think you have me confused, sir.' he said politely.

'No! No, yer that fuc- *HIC* -uker who…who cheated his way to prom-prom-prominmananace! I could take you…' the man lurched forward and tried to grab his hoodie.

'Sir, I think you've had too much to drink.' Izuku said, as he sidestepped past the man.

'Stop moving you little…you little bastard…hold still…'

To his dismay the man tried and failed to charge at him multiple times. Eventually the belligerent lost his balance and slipped. Babbling incoherently, the drunk flopped around on the concrete like a fish out of water. Averting his eyes, Izuku glanced over to the fast food restaurant. Several of the people inside had been attracted to the spectacle and were now staring at them.

_Damn, I can't meet Weasel now. Everyone knows I'm here!_

He looked down at the now snoring drunk and let out a frustrated hiss.

_Thanks a lot, buddy._

Pulling out his phone he called the man a cab and walked away before any more curious onlookers could approach him. Fleeing back into the darkened alleyways, he changed back into Spider-Man and launched himself into the sky. Hopefully Knuckleduster didn't stand him up too.

* * *

Swinging between buildings, Izuku quickly made his way over to the parkade. He was going to be a little early, but that wasn't the biggest issue. He had already waited for over two hours for Weasel to show up, what was a couple of minutes for Knuckleduster?

Landing on top of a high rise that overlooked the parkade he prepared to settle in to wait. However, to his surprise he spotted Knuckleduster pacing by the wall.

_Huh? He's waiting for me? That's new._

Swinging down, he flipped and swung into the parkade floor. Immediately he could sense that something was wrong. Knuckleduster had stopped pacing and was waiting for him by the red graffiti as usual, except this time Knuckleduster had a stiffness about his posture that set Izuku on edge. There was a tension in the air that had never been there before.

'Hey. Come over…' Knuckleduster said, waving him closer.

He hesitated and took a moment to consider his surroundings. As usual the lot was filled with derelict cars and loosely scattered trash. Besides the buzzing from the harsh florescent lights and the musky smell of wet furniture, he couldn't sense anything out of the ordinary, but still something was different. He scanned around the destroyed cars, his fingers twitching experimentally. As he looked around the rusted-out metal frames, his examination was interrupted by Knuckleduster.

'Come on Spider-Man, I don't have all night!'

'Hmmm…' Izuku said, 'Alright, alright, just a second.'

Slowly he walked over to Knuckleduster, head crooked and ears perked for trouble.

'Say Knuckleduster, does something seem different to you?'

'Different? In what way?' Knuckleduster said, lighting his cigarette.

'I'm not sure…' he said carefully, 'Just…different…'

'Hm. Everything seems normal to me.' Knuckleduster grunted, 'So, what's this I hear about you and fourteen murders?' he said casually.

He quit looking around the parkade and snapped his eyes back up to Knuckleduster in alarm, 'It wasn't me; it was Stain! Listen, last Saturday…'

Knuckleduster listened patiently as he explained how Stain had followed him and killed the criminals he had been subduing. When he told him how he had tracked Stain to the Grey Towers Knuckleduster looked like he wanted to interrupt, but instead held his tongue until he finished his story.

'…and then I left Stain to the police. I know they covered everything up and I don't exactly have any evidence exonerating me, but I'm telling you the truth I swear. All of those murders were Stain.' he said earnestly and Knuckleduster was silent for a few moments.

'W-Well…?' he prompted.

Knuckleduster rolled his cigarette and took a long drag before speaking.

'Well that's some story, kid.'

'What?!' Izuku exclaimed incredulously, 'Come on! You have to believe me. Why would I lie?'

Knuckleduster rubbed his stubble as he considered him.

'I don't know. Credit maybe?' he opened his mouth to argue, but before he could say anything Knuckleduster continued, 'Don't get me wrong kid, I believe you about those murders. You don't seem like you've gone off the deep end and I buy that Stain did it. _But_ …' Knuckleduster shrugged, 'You're saying you tracked Stain over the city, by coincidence to the right tower, climbed through the vents and took him out before he even realized you were there. _That very same day._ That's…pretty wild.'

He looked on helplessly as Knuckleduster tossed his cigarette.

'I wouldn't lie about something like this, old man.' he said in what he hoped was a stern voice, but Knuckleduster merely shrugged again.

'Ugh. You know what? Fine.' he grumbled, 'Don't believe me. It doesn't matter. Because either way Stain has been captured by the police and we can both breath easy. Now as to the reason I called you…'

'Oh, this wasn't the reason you contacted me?' Knuckleduster said and he shook his head.

'No. Remember how I was saying I wanted to meet with the League of Villains and you said I needed a billion yen? Well I was going to give you the money for that tonight, but something came up and now I, uh, might need to wait for another night or so.' Knuckleduster's mouth dropped open in amazement and Izuku raised his hand calmingly, 'Just so you know.'

'Where'd you get a billion yen? You dip into the trust fund?'

‘There is no trust fund! I, uh, placed some bets on a thing. Only the proxy I used didn't show up to our meeting so…'

To his surprise, Knuckleduster suddenly burst out laughing. Howling, he doubled over and slapped his knee.

'What?' he asked innocently.

Knuckleduster kept laughing and laughing, before eventually his laughs turned into a fit of coughing and wheezing and he was forced to stop to take a breath. During this episode Izuku was silent, tapping his foot on the floor as he waited for his guffaws to subside. This was the second time today that he was left hanging like an idiot.

'What's so funny?' he demanded.

'You bet through a proxy, eh? Oh, yeah. That's…that's real interesting kid. How much money are we talking about here, the full billion or even more?'

'More.' he said, frowning.

'Well kid I hate to break it to you, but your proxy took the cash and is long gone. He's probably on a beach in southern France right now getting serenaded by beautiful naked women.'

He froze, a dull edge of uncertainty worming into his skull before he quickly shook his head.

'N-No, no, no. This guy wouldn't do that. He owes me. I-I saved him once even!'

Knuckleduster gave him a piteous look.

'You're so, so, so stupid kid. Let me ask you something: This guy who owes you big; is he your brother? Your life long friend? Or just some guy?'

'He-he's a guy I met in the slums.'

'Uh, huh. And what does this guy do?'

'Um…' Izuku was silent for a moment as he thought over the Jack Hammer business card, 'He's like a gambler, conman, hustler…' he felt his face go red. How hadn't he seen it coming?

'Mmm.' Knuckleduster said, nodding at his sudden silence, 'Look on the bright side kid, everybody gets burned once. Of course, in my case it was a used car salesman and not a giant pile of money. Now if you…Hey! Where are you going?' shouted Knuckleduster as he took off.

'I-I might he able to find him yet!' he yelled over his shoulder, 'I'll talk to you later!'

Knuckleduster looked on as Izuku leapt away. Shaking his head, he lit another cigarette.

* * *

Knuckleduster was still for a few seconds facing towards the ledge that Spider-Man had disappeared through before giving a low whistle. Behind him a large heap of garbage bags and cardboard fell away revealing a costumed man and woman. The man was wearing a hoodie with a conspicuous pair of bunny ears attached, goggles, and knee and elbow pads while the girl was in a revealing leotard, miniskirt, and black eye mask. The two walked over to where Knuckleduster was standing.

'How come every time you want something it involves garbage?' the woman said scowling and Knuckleduster chuckled, 'So, that's Spider-Man.'

'Yep. The infamous super villain himself. What did ya' think? Was he as scary as you thought he'd be?' Knuckleduster asked, and the woman rolled her eyes.

'He seems a little hopeless to be honest with you.' the hooded man beside the woman said, 'I mean, bet by proxy? Who falls for that kind of thing?'

Knuckleduster grunted, 'Like you should talk, Crawler. When you first started you were getting into all sorts of stupid shit too.'

Crawler shot him a dirty look before continuing.

'Do you really think he took down Stain?'

Knuckleduster threw his hands in his pockets and sighed.

'Maybe. The kid had a point after all. Why should he lie? He doesn't seem like the sort who wants bragging rights. Plus, he's got to be powerful if he survived a battle with Shocker. Maybe he could take on Stain…'

Crawler nodded and Knuckleduster turned to the girl.

'Pop Step, find out why the police haven't buried the murder charges will you? Something stinks about this and I reckon that rat Nābasu’s dirty little fingerprints are all over it.'

At that the three began discussing their next move while they left the parkade. As they talked, Knuckleduster couldn’t help but feel relieved that they had sorted out all that mass murder business. He got the sense that he was Spider-Man's first contact with the vigilante world and he didn't want to be the one to bring him down.

* * *

Keeping to the rooftop shadows, Izuku carefully considered the darkened window of the fourth-floor apartment across the street. It had taken him about an hour to trace the cell phone number he had been given to a physical address. Assuming the billing information he had stolen from the phone company’s computers was accurate, this was where Enrique Mbutu – aka Weasel – lived.

He didn’t detect any ambush. Leaping across the car jammed street, he landed on the wall next to the window. Sliding it open, he stealthily crawled inside.

He knew the apartment was empty, but maybe there was some clue as to Weasel’s whereabouts. A faint smell of unwashed dishes and old pizza boxes hung in the air as he conducted a quick search. Just as he feared the only things missing were clothes, toiletries, and personal effects. Knuckleduster was right. Weasel must have taken the money and ran.

Once he was sure he had seen everything, he went back into the main living area. Absently kicking an old take-out carton across the floor, he flopped down on the man's threadbare couch.

'This is what I get for trusting a man named Weasel.' he said to himself miserably.

Tilting his head to the side, he discovered the television remote poking out from between the couch cushions. With a sigh, he grabbed it. Switching on the TV, he made himself comfortable. Predictably the channel was set to the Sports Network and he recognized the two hero hosts Bob Cat and Lenny Lemon Thrower.

'So lay it on me, Lenny. What do you think happened out there?' Bob asked his counterpart.

'Well uh, Bob, I uh, think what were seeing here is a weakness in the hero classes and a, uh, capitalization by the other students who're moving in to fill the gap.' Lenny said and Bob nodded knowingly.

'I mean…let's cut to the mustard here, Lenny. Izuku Midoriya, talented he may be - and nobody's trying to say otherwise-' he said, raising his arms defensively, 'But somebody like him should not have been able to advance as far as he did in the tournament. That says to me that there might be a training problem at UA. For their heroes to almost lose to a quirkless person is…well it's astounding.'

'Uh, sure is Bob.'

'And let's not forget the others. Several other support department heroes got to the tournament as well. Not to mention Hitoshi Shinso from general education.'

'Oh, yeah.'

'I think going forward UA is going to need to re-examine how they're doing things because as of now, well, I know its early in their training, but…' Bob seemed to be struggling for words before he just shook his head in resignation, 'Not much confidence right now Lenny. Not much confidence at all.'

'I hear you, Bob.'

At that he turned off the television. Once again, he felt the familiar tang of guilt eating away at him. He had pushed his fellow support heroes far in order to improve his own chances of winning. He had even helped design weapons specifically to fight the A and B class heroes, potentially putting their futures in jeopardy, and it had all been for nothing. He could only imagine how the hero students must be feeling.

_Maybe it’s for the best. I have my hands full with Shocker and his criminal organization already. Could I really handle the League of Villains by myself?_

Sighing heavily, he got up from the couch and made his way over to the window.

_You'd better hope our paths never cross again, Weasel. You've a lot to answer for._

* * *

Mina awoke with a groan. Rubbing her eyes, she reluctantly stirred. She could tell by the sun pouring through her bedroom window that she had overslept. She considered crawling back under her covers to try and sleep off her headache, but she knew there was no point. She would just stew in her own misery, feeling worse and worse unless she got up and did something. With a haggard sigh she climbed out of bed. Stretching, she felt her stomach lurch painfully and she quickly stopped. She still felt nauseous from yesterday. Recovery Girl had told her that it might take awhile for her pH to return to normal, but the imbalance was almost unbearable.

Dragging her feet, she reluctantly approached the mirror. Bracing herself, she looked at her reflection. What she saw made her feel even more sick. Her skin was still an unsightly white hue.

She quickly turned away. Originally when she had heard that there was a two-day break after the games, she had been ecstatic. She planned on winning the tournament (or at the very least getting silver), then going wild celebrating with her friends. But she didn't dare leave the house now. She was a laughing stock.

Not only had she lost in the first round of the first fight. She had lost in such spectacularly embarrassing fashion that she wasn't sure if she could ever show her face in public again. Thanks to her new albino complexion she stuck out like a sore thumb and everybody would recognize her if she left the house. Normally she would have passed the time online, but she couldn't go on her computer either. Her defeat was all over the internet too. Baking soda. She had been defeated by _baking soda_.

Last night she had made the mistake of rewatching her "fight" against Midoriya on YouTube and the comments had been merciless.

"What, so all I need to beat her is go in my kitchen and throw some baking soda on her and she's done? How did she get into UA?"

"God that screaming! She looks like a pig getting cooked alive!"

"For a while I was going to feel sorry for her, but then I realized that this is what her opponents must feel once she hits them with acid. No sympathy."

After a few moments of indecision, she let herself fall back on her bed. She really didn't know what she was going to do.

* * *

Meanwhile across the city, Momo was poised on the couch in her private parlour, her hands clasped firmly on her lap. She was staring at a black television screen, remote control on the cushion next to her. She had been putting it off long enough. She had to see how she had lost the fight against Midoriya. Ignoring the ball of ice in her stomach she took a deep breath and pressed play.

The recording started with the moments just before the match. She and Midoriya were squaring off in front of each other while Midnight went over the rules before beginning her countdown. With the signal from Midnight, she immediately created a shield and staff for herself, just like she had trained. Given the tournament rules she had figured that the shield and staff were a good choice for close quarters combat. Midoriya on the other hand, despite having a nightstick on his utility belt as well as numerous grenades, chose to engage her unarmed. Why? Was he that confident of his victory that he felt he didn't need a weapon to beat her?

She felt her heartrate steadily rise as she and Midoriya met. She opened with a powerful thrust, straight to the solar plexus. If it had connected, the boy would have been stunned and likely would have been unable to continue the fight. However, that isn't what happened.

She watched in disbelief as he casually slipped past her staff and kick out her leg. Stuck as she was in mid stride the blow had swept her off her feet. Then he simply fell on top of her; subduing her with his body weight and choking her with his knee. Perfect.

Momo paused the television and looked at herself in the recording. Her face was red, her mouth open and gasping, her eyes watering and unfocused. What she should have done was make another weapon, something to force him off of her but in the heat of the moment, with her brain being deprived of oxygen, all she could think to do was lash out, which of course accomplished nothing.

Resuming the video, she felt sick as she watched herself feebly attempt to grab his face. Some hair, his ear, anything. Anything to get his knee off her throat. In response he simply shifted his weight and kept the pressure up until she passed out.

Momo paused again. She found herself thankful that the cameras didn't show his face. When she was on the ground and was on the verge of unconsciousness, she had looked into his eyes then and they had terrified her. They were quite calm, relaxed even. Despite being quirkless, defeating her had been as easy as breathing. Was she really so weak?

What if she encountered someone like him on her patrols as a hero? She had always pictured her fights as being against some comically overdressed, flamboyant villain - not a dead eyed nobody inexorably pushing a knee to her throat. Subduing, choking, crushing.

She blinked and looked away from the screen. She had been training with some of the best instructor's money could buy for years. How had she lost?

* * *

Shinso resisted the urge to touch his jaw as he left his bedroom. It had been bothering him all night and he suspected it would feel sore for a few days yet. Going down the stairs, he went to the dining room. His three younger brothers were sitting at the table eating breakfast. Upon his entrance they all stopped talking and looked at him excitedly.

‘Morning!’ they chorused.

‘Morning.’ he said back. Pulling back a chair, he sat at the table before an empty plate, ‘What are you three doing today?’

‘Mom says you’re taking us to the mall!’ the youngest said happily, ‘She says we’re all gonna go see a movie and go to the aquarium and go to the arcade!’

He sighed, ‘Oh really? That sounds…fun.’

Walking in from the kitchen, his mom entered the room holding a frying pan.

‘Boys! Only if your brother is feeling up to it. He’s been through a lot.’ she said, dumping a pile of scrambled eggs on his plate.

‘Uh, Mom I’m not that hungry.’

‘Nonsense.’ she tutted, scrapping the remnants of the pan off, ‘You need your energy, Hitoshi.’

She stared at him expectantly. He knew there was no point in arguing with her and he reluctantly lifted his fork. As he began eating, he felt his jaw ache but he ignored it. He’d just have to bear with it. Nodding in approval, she turned on the radio before returning to the kitchen. At that moment, the song that had been playing ended and the morning talk show hosts began talking.

‘Goooooooooood, morning Musutafu! How’s everybody doing on their holiday? Lot of exciting things happening around town, but of course who could forget about the big event? Yes, the Sports Festival continues with the second year’s competing today. What’re the chances you think of another Midoriya or Shinso upset?’ asked the radio host to his co-host.

‘Nill. I know some people out there are holding out hope for a fairy tale scenario, but there’s no way someone with an underdeveloped quirk or whose quirkless can hope to compete at the second-year level. What you have to remember is, the second-year hero students have had a year’s worth of training under their belt. A person like Midoriya stands no chance, and someone as relatively weak as Shinso couldn’t hope to compete-‘

To his amusement one of his brothers, jumped up from his seat and rushed over to the radio.

‘Ugh! Idiots!’ his brother said in disgust, switching the radio off, ‘What do they know about anything?’

Shinso shrugged, ‘They have a point. It’ll be hard work to catch up to everyone if I don’t get placed in the hero class. In fact, if I don’t get some sort of formalized training soon, I’ll probably be unable to _ever_ qualify. That’s why it was so important to prove myself yesterday. But because I didn’t make it to the podium…’

His youngest brother looked at him in alarm.

‘A-Are you saying you’re giving up?’

Shinso burst out laughing. His jaw seared in protest but he couldn’t help himself. Chuckling, he shook his head.

‘No! Maybe I failed this time, but I'm not giving up. I'll show them I've got what it takes to make the hero course, and I'll become a greater hero than anyone.’

* * *

That evening Kirishima, Kaminari, Jiro, and Shoji were walking side by side down a bustling street in the entertainment district. In an attempt to raise their spirits, Kaminari had suggested that they all go out together and enjoy their holiday. The others refused at first until he, in a rare demonstration of intelligence, pointed out that because they were all eliminated so early in the competition, it was unlikely that they would get recognized. Reluctantly they had agreed and decided to meet up.

And to his credit, he had been correct. The streets were so crowded with other teens and vacationers celebrating the holiday that nobody had recognized them. They had been able to go to the arcade, bum around the mall, and eat out. It almost felt normal. The only problem was that wherever they went the only thing the people around them seemed to be talking about was the Sports Festival.

At first it wasn't so bad, but after hearing the same dry comments for the umpteenth time; "The second-year events were waaaaay better than the first years." and "It’s so weird seeing the second years again. They’ve grown so much! So much more talented than this year’s first year students." they had decided to call it an early night.

'Well I'm glad we could hang out guys, we should do it more often.' Kaminari said enthusiastically.

'Yeah, that would be nice.' Jiro responded, smiling.

'Maybe we could hang out after class on Thursday!' Kaminari said.

'Sadly, I don't think we're going to have much free time once school starts up again. I have a feeling that Mr. Aizawa is going to be working us to the bone.' Shoji said solemnly.

Kirishima nodded, 'Yeah. Remember what he looked like when he sent us home after the festival? Some of us might not even be in class 1-A anymore-'

The pleasant atmosphere instantly evaporated and Kirishima face palmed. In an unspoken rule they had all carefully avoided talking about the Sports Festival.

Jiro covered her ears, 'Aw, please guys, don't bring that up. I was stressing all last night about getting kicked out.' she pleaded. 

'S-Sorry.' Kirishima said.

The four fell into an uneasy lull of silence as they continued down the sidewalk, oblivious to their merry surroundings. It was a busy night and the shops were full to bursting. Each window they passed was filled with joyous teens enjoying the holiday, laughing and talking without a care in the world. Now they felt like outsiders all over again.

Eventually Jiro broke the silence.

'I mean we haven't even been trained yet…' she said slowly.

Nobody said anything so she continued.

'And we were all eliminated during the first round before we even knew what was going on. I don't think that like…reflects poorly on our potential or anything. Besides, we’ve been doing well in the exercises and classwork. Well, I have anyway.‘ she glanced over at Kaminari and he gulped nervously.

Kirishima looked over at her and smiled encouragingly, 'I wouldn't worry about it, Jiro. You're doing well enough that I'm sure you're going to be fine. In fact, I'm sure we'll all be fine. It's like you said, we lost to a surprise attack, and from the silver medal winner at that. We just need to work harder that's all.'

Jiro smiled back appreciatively, but she wasn’t convinced. None of them were. Dirty tricks and cheap attacks were to be expected in the Sports Festival; they happened every year. The only difference was that this time class 1-A and 1-B had been played for fools and the only people they had to blame was themselves.


	25. Lemon Fresh

To the people living in the slums of Musutafu there were three types of businesses. The first was the mom and pop shop. These beloved bars, cafes, and corner stores were invariably in a state of constant disrepair and whose owners were either cantankerous, withered old prunes filled with wisdom or affable sages that would always be willing to part with a candy or two to help out a down on his luck kid. They had always been there and they would never leave; stark and treasured reminders of the neighbourhood that once was.

The second were the "Pay! Now get out!" joints. Occasionally some enterprising young street rat would scrap together enough money working a shit job or three to open up a business of their own. For these individuals survival was a constant struggle. Shoplifters, muggers, vagrants; everyone wanted a piece and nobody was willing to pay for it. Without the armour of nostalgia, their owners relied on bulletproof glass and concealed weapons to stay afloat. If you went inside one of these stores you were expected to know what you wanted, get it, then leave. No questions, no chit chat, no loitering.

The third type of business were those places that everybody knew, but nobody talked about and _nobody_ went there to shop. True, every once and a while you might see someone walk inside, but you quickly forgot about it. Overly curious people didn't live long in the slums.

One such business was Lemon Fresh - a dumpy old laundromat on 77th Street that was open odd hours and only had two working machines. Every once and a while a car would stop by and drop off some "laundry" in a duffle bag, but other than that nobody ever went in there.

That Wednesday it was business as usual at Lemon Fresh. The owner was expecting three deliveries: One from Piranha who worked the docks, another from Claw who had been promoted to protection, and one from Big Spin's casino.

However unbeknownst to the owner of the Lemon Fresh Laundromat, far above them perched in the shadow of a roof top water tower was a curious onlooker.

* * *

_I can wait all day guys._ Izuku thought idly as he traced his finger across the hot tar rooftop.

His plan was simple. Big Spin had told him the Lemon Fresh was where Shocker collected his protection money so he would just follow the money as it changed hands up the ladder. This wasn't some rinky dink drug money that was being collected either. Big Spin's casino alone generated tens of millions of yen a month in revenue and Izuku was willing to bet that whoever handled that kind of cash had to be pretty high up in the Shocker's organization. Possibly even high enough to know where to find the boss man himself.

However as essential as this task was, staking out a money laundering building wasn't exactly his idea of a fun vacation activity. No doubt while all his classmates were partying it up, he was stuck watching a building all day.

While he waited he found his mind wandering. He wondered where Weasel was and what sort of mischief he was getting himself into. Maybe he was racing his gold car down the freeway, or sunning himself in Dubai, or swimming with dolphins somewhere.

He flicked a beetle off the ledge of the roof and pressed himself against the cool metal sheeting of the water tower. Hopefully wherever Weasel was he didn't get himself in over his head. Though lord knows he deserved every bit of trouble heading his way.

His cloud watching was interrupted by a buzzing in his pocket. Whipping off his gloved hand, he pulled out his phone. It was his mother. After a moment’s indecision he answered.

'Hey, Mom. How's it going?'

'Hello, Izu. I was just wondering when you were coming home. I have dinner all ready…'

He bit his lip in frustration. He couldn't afford to abandon his post.

'Uh, well. I'm sort of hanging out with my friends right now. We're actually having a bite and afterwards we were all going to see a movie…' he said, trailing off meaningfully.

'Ooh, that's great news, Izu! I'll let you go then, but don't stay up too late! It's a school night remember.'

'Okay Mom, I won't. Don't wait up though. Bye!'

He hung up the phone and gazed past the Grey Towers in the direction of his own apartment building. He couldn't see it through the haze of smog, but he was sure that his Mother was there, jumping for joy at the prospect of him having made some friends.

He could only smile faintly. He supposed he could have called up some of his classmates and seen what they were up to, but he couldn't spare the time. Also, he wasn't sure if he could stomach being out in public any time soon.

Since the Sports Festival, with the exception of his Spider-Man activities he hadn't been around the city much so he hadn't had any interactions with anyone. During his patrols though he kept seeing his face pop up everywhere. He was on posters, television, the news; it was too much. Not to mention what the slavering hordes of possessive creeps on the internet had made of him. Rather than deal with the degeneracy that his social media had become, he had just deleted everything and moved on. To his amusement, he noticed that Bakugo had done the same. For all Bakugo’s pomp and bluster, he knew that Bakugo was probably just as uncomfortable with his new-found fame as he was.

Putting himself back against the water tower, he thought about the lie he had just told his mother. These days it seemed like the only friend he had was Knuckleduster – if you could call exchanging information in a parking lot a friendship. Truth be told, he and his classmates had a working relationship and that had largely been based off of prepping for the Sports Festival. If he had called, would any of his classmates want to hang out with him now that it was over?

He sighed. _Probably not. Well I guess it doesn’t really matter. I don’t have time for friends anyway._

Hours passed and the sun started to set. Finally, just as he was starting to think about sneaking off to get a bite to eat, he spotted a luxurious SUV approaching.

* * *

Claw thumbed the stirring wheel angrily as he slowly drove closer to the cleaners. Between his splitting headache and his partner’s nonstop babbling, his patience was almost at its limit.

'And then the stupid fucking bitch gets herself covered in muck or some shit and she starts screamin' and rollin' around, crying like a baby.' his partner suddenly put on a piercingly high-pitched voice, "OoOoooOooo it hurts! Make it stop!" laughing uproariously, he slapped the dash.

Claw glanced over at his partner with disdain.

'Why are you even watching the Sports Festival in the first place? It’s nothing but a bunch of goody two shoes jerking each other off. Pointless waste of time if you ask me. I never bother with it.' Claw muttered as he prepared to parallel park.

'Yeah, but its fun! You should've seen it! Midnight was there, trouncing around in that fucking costume of hers. Goddamn! Those kids are so lucky.' he said wistfully, 'She could subdue me any day of the week, you know what I'm sayin'?' he said, jostling Claw in the arm. Claw shot the man a pitying look as he put the SUV into park.

'I bet you a lot of guys have said that about Midnight right before she cracked their skull open. Seriously did you even stop and think what kind of risk you were taking sitting in that stadium? All Might, Endeavour, hell half of the pro heroes in this shithole city were in those seats.'

His partner scoffed, 'Sixty thousand people in there, you think they're going to do a back-ground check on everyone? Please. I'm just some schmuck from the Towers. Nobody gives a shit about me. You know, I heard the boss man was there. Checking out the future competition.'

Claw smirked in disbelief and his partner continued.

'Besides,' he said slyly, 'I kind of thought you'd be interested in the games considering who won second place…'

Claw's smirk quickly turned into an ugly scowl. Everyone had been giving him shit about the fucking, green haired, freckly kid. His partner smiled upon seeing his reaction and he continued.

'Y'know all things considered, I'm not surprised you and that other guy -what was his name?- Shush, Mum, Swoosh…?'

'Hush. His name was Hush and he was a good guy.' Claw said in an even, calm voice.

 _He was twice the partner you'll ever be._ Claw thought bitterly. He and Hush went way back. They had come up the ranks together back when the Shocker was just a member of The Squadron Sinister. Last year he had been devastated when Hush was killed by one of Speed Demon's guys during the turf war.

'Well anyway, I'm surprised you aren't even interested in ya’ boy no more. He's a real-'

'Look, let's just get this over with, alright?' Claw said gruffly, opening his door.

The other man snickered as he grabbed the "laundry bag" from the back seat before he too exited the vehicle. Walking side by side, the pair entered the dingy laundromat.

A bell mounted to the top of the door jingled merrily upon the two men's arrival into the small, narrow store. Claw scowled as he walked in. The place stank like mold and rot and it wasn't hard to see why. The floors were filthy and stained, and around the rusted, broken down laundry machines, small pools of milky water had collected. No doubt they had never been installed properly. Considering how much money passed through this place, you'd think they would invest more in a believable cover.

'Hey. Hey! Is anybody here?' Claw called out loudly as he walked up to the counter. Stopping at the front, he rapped his knuckles across the chipped linoleum wrapped surface. Nobody answered him.

'Hellooo?' he called out, still banging on the counter.

After a moment they heard rustling from up above.

'Alright! Alright, damn you. Just give me a moment…' wheezed a voice from the backroom.

Claw leaned over the counter and scowled at the doorway for a moment before checking his watch. He was already running a little late. After he was done with the drop, he still needed to collect rent from over a dozen overdue deadbeats across the city and tracking down those cockroaches took time.

'Hey. What are you doing back there?' called out his partner.

The pair heard some unintelligible mumbling and the sound of creaking stairs before at last the wiry old bastard who ran the store appeared in the back doorway before them. Nobody knew where the old geezer had come from, but they knew he was a career criminal before any of them were even born.

'You guys are early.' the old man said sullenly.

'Actually, we're late.' Claw said, lip curling as he noticed the old man's dishevelled appearance, 'Jesus what the fuck happened to professionalism?'

'Yeah, yeah.' rasped the old man as he extended a bony hand for the duffle bag, 'Look, you see the neighbourhood around here? Run down shitholes the lot of them. I'm just blending in.'

'Yeah, you're a real method actor.' sneered his partner as he plopped the bag on the counter.

The old man grumbled incoherently and snatched the bag away. Before either of them could say anything further, the front door swung open accompanied by the soft jingling of the store bell.

The three men quickly looked over, hands reaching into their jacket pockets before they relaxed somewhat. It was Piranha.

'Greeeetings boyyssss.' Piranha gargled past his bulbous lips, 'Isssss it a paaarty in here?'

'Hey, Piranha. How's the sun treating ya?' Claw's partner said jovially and Piranha hissed at him.

Claw watched as the giant fish man hybrid pulled out a bottle from his overcoat jacket. Popping the lid with a flick of his chitinous webbed hands, he upended the container on himself and spilled water over his emerald scaled skin. At the liquids touch, the room immediately began to reek of rotting fish. Claw grimaced before pinching his nose shut as Piranha let out a sigh of pleasure.

'Itsssss not fair. Making me driiive all the way here.' Piranha gargled, tossing the bottle aside.

'Is the floor a dump to you, Piranha?' Claw said moving to the side so the fish-man could drop his own duffle bag on the counter, 'No wonder this city has such a rat problem.'

'Pleasssse.' he said, rotating one of his bulging eyes to face Claw, 'I live in the bay. You want to ssseee a real garbage problem? Vissssit one of the underwater ghettoessss.'

Claw and his partner backed apart to opposite walls to make room for him. It was getting crowded.

As Piranha gingerly placed his own duffle bag on the counter the door's entrance bell jingled yet again. Piranha growled and twisted his giant body around while Claw and his partner once again reached for their weapons, but it was just Big Spin's courier.

'What's- Woo! Jesus, it stinks!' cried the man tucking his nose into his elbow.

Piranha turned his head and flashed the newcomer a smile; his gaping mouth revealing rows upon rows of jagged teeth. Big Spin's courier floundered before the crowded counter for a moment before throwing his duffle bag over to the shop keep who looked on with a surly expression.

'Here.' he said as he the old man caught the bag, 'Enjoy.'

Without another word the courier turned and stumbled out the door. Claw likewise motioned to his partner. If he was stuck in here for much longer, he was going to pass out.

'Well Piranha, would you be so inclined as to get out the way? Some of us have things to do.'

'Alriiiight, alriiiight…'

Eventually they were able to extract themselves and Claw and his partner stepped out into the street, grateful for the fresh air.

'I don't know why Piranha insists on delivering his laundry himself if he dislikes being out of the water so much.' Claw mumbled as they walked back to the SUV.

'He's just paranoid.' replied his partner, 'Nobody would ever mess with this place.'

The two men stepped into their vehicle and drove off. Before long the fish man also lumbered outside and into his brine filled camper. Although he mumbled and hissed loudly, everybody on the street was careful not to meet his gaze and instead continued on with their business.

It was no surprise then that when one more person entered the cleaners; nobody batted an eye or remembered a thing.

* * *

Izuku creaked the front door to the laundromat open just enough to fit in his fingers. Grabbing the store bell, he ripped out it’s tongue before stepping inside. The shop owner was nowhere to be seen, but he could hear sounds from the floor above. He quickly strode across the store. Hopping over the puddle of Piranha water on the floor and across the countertop, he entered into a dingy storeroom. Walking past shelves of detergent and cleaning compounds, he scaled a set of rickety stairs towards the second floor.

Coming around the corner, he saw that the door at the head of the stairs was open. Walking on tiptoe, he entered the second floor and found himself standing in a loft apartment.

The loft was certainly a lived-in space. Every inch of the room was utilized. Shelves lined with books and belongings covered the walls between cheap dressers and a couch. Fans filled the room, each one pointing towards the slightly ajar window overlooking the street. They did little to reduce the smell of mold, though the noise they made had masked the sound of his footsteps. Standing unaware by the window was the old shop owner. His back was to the doorway while he fiddled with a wall mounted safe. By his feet were the three dufflebugs, bulging with dirty money. Izuku silently padded over to the man. Once he was right behind him, he spoke.

'Hey-'

Immediately the old man whirled around. In an instant a crackling corona of glowing orange light formed around his head framing his eyes and mouth in a horrifying glow. The old man’s rapid response startled him, and he took a step back.

As Izuku considered his new opponent, energy raced down the old man's wrinkled neck and chest concentrating in his rising arms and down his hands. With a soundless snarl, he pushed out with his now incandescent palms as though shoving the air.

Izuku flipped over to the wall as a wave of orange energy blew past him. The old man’s strange attack ripped through the loft, blasting apart the shelves and sending their now smoldering contents flying. Without a second thought Izuku sprang off the wall and tackled into the old man, headbutting him to the floor. Smacking into the hardwood, the old man appeared stunned while Izuku forcibly pinned him.

'Hey!' he shouted, 'Cut it out, gramps!'

'Spider-Man!' the old man growled, 'You want to talk?'

'Something like tha-' Izuku froze as in that instant, the old man's eyes briefly flashed orange again. Arching himself backward, he threw back his chin just in time to dodge past another blast of energy. He watched wide eyed as a perfectly circular hole suddenly appeared in the ceiling above him, the edges charred black with carbonized ceiling tile.

Jerking his neck back down to his struggling opponent, he punched the geezer across the face. To his amazement however the tough old bastard kept struggling. Wriggling a hand loose, the gangster managed to point his finger’s at Izuku’s chest.

With a yelp, Izuku rolled away just as another blast rocketed outward, lancing into the wall and scoring its surface with intense heat.

_Screw this! I need to finish this guy off before he brings the cops down on us!_

Springing up, he charged into the old man and threw him back against the wall safe. Before the old man could react, he launched a volley of punches across the gangster’s stomach and lower chest. Caught between the safe and the flurry of blows, he was battered like a piece of metal between a hammer and an anvil. The blows proved too much and he nearly collapsed to his knees while hacking and coughing up blood.

'Stay down!' Izuku shouted, roughly grabbing the sputtering old man by the collar, 'You can't beat me.'

The old man spat out a glob of blood on his arm in response and glared up at him in silent defiance.

'I'm not here for you.' he continued as he hoisted the man up with one arm, pinning him against the safe, 'I want Shocker. Where is he?'

'Shocker? What makes you think I know anything about where he is?'

'Because he needs to get his hands on his money from someone and I'm willing to bet that you're ranked high enough to know where to find him! So where is he?!'

The old man sighed and turned his wrinkled eyes past him and out towards the window.

'If I tell you I'm a dead man.' he said thoughtfully, 'But I suppose you'll kill me if I don't talk right?' he let out a pained chuckle.

Izuku's instinct told him to stay silent.

'Let's cut a deal.' the old man said in a suddenly crisp voice, 'I tell you what you want and I walk out of here. With all the money.' he added, arching his eyebrows, 'Deal?'

'No!' Izuku said, 'There are no deals! You tell me what I want and you can leave in police custody instead of a hearse!'

The old man laughed again however his laughter quickly subsided into a fit of coughing and he stopped himself.

'Naw. If I tell you anything, I'm dead anyway. All this-' he said, bumping his head against the safe, 'Will be the only thing keeping me alive if I tell you anything. Because trust me, you aren't beating Shocker. Once he’s finished with you, he'll find out who squealed and I'll be spending the rest of my days on the run.'

Izuku frowned. He didn't like the idea of letting someone go free, much less one of Shocker's top men, but he didn't see any other way. He couldn't exactly torture the guy. With a sigh of resignation, he lowered the old man down to the floor.

'Alright deal. You tell me where he is, and I'll leave you be. So, where is he?' Izuku asked as the old man wiped some bloody spittle off his chin.

'Downtown. In the Penthouse suite of the Glass Way Tower.'

Izuku's eyes widened in surprise. The Glass Way Tower was the last place he expected someone like Shocker to be.

'The Glass Way Tower? Why is he up there? I thought he was all about discretion.'

'What can I say? He's moving up in the world. He can't stay a crime boss running from safehouse to safehouse forever.' he chuckled, flecks of red falling from his lips, ‘This life gets tiring Spider-Man…'

Izuku stood silent and thought things over. The Glass Way Tower was in the city centre and there were sure to be several hero agencies nearby. If the alarm was raised, he would be done for. Still, what other choice did he have?

'Does Shocker have anybody with him?'

'Maybe a butler or secretary, but I doubt it. He doesn't let anybody see him there. He likes to keep the place clean.'

Izuku nodded. At least he wouldn't have to fight a bunch of his goons. Getting ambushed by somebody like Speed Demon again was the last thing he wanted. Taking down Shocker alone was going to be difficult enough as is.

'Alright.' Izuku said finally, 'A deal's a deal. I'll let you go…this time. But, if I get to the Glass Way Tower and I find out that you've alerted Shocker…'

The man shrugged, 'I wouldn't worry about me, Spider-Man. As far as I'm concerned, all this-' he said gesturing to the duffle bags, '-is my retirement fund. See I've been in this game for a long time too and I'm sick of growing old watching somebody else's money in a mold infested shit hole. You get me?’

‘You should have come to that realization years ago.’ Izuku said, frowning as the old man coughed up more blood, ‘Maybe you should spend some of your new fortune on a doctor.’

The old man chuckled again and Izuku warily stepped over to the open window. Maintaining eye contact, he shot out his web and jumped outside. It was early evening and before the night was over, Shocker would be behind bars. This time he was sure of it.


	26. Stones and Glass Houses

The downtown city streets were filled to bursting as people hurried about their business. Most of the corporate offices had just closed for the evening and now streams of exhausted salary workers were pouring out into the sidewalks eager to get home to their families or get drunk with their coworkers. Taxi cabs were filled; parking lots emptied; and the subways became choked with bodies as everyone had a place they would rather be.

In the midst of all the hustle and bustle, Izuku stood pressed up against the side of a building while the current of people swept past him. Given his new-found fame, he had disguised himself as best he could in a hoodie, jeans, and baseball cap. It wasn't much but thankfully nobody paid him a second glance. They were too preoccupied to pay attention to some kid on the street.

Izuku rubbed his chin apprehensively as he peered up at the Glass Way luxury high rise. True to its name, it was smooth, polished glass all the way to the top. Climbing it wouldn't be a problem - he had yet to find something he couldn't grip - but doing so undetected would be impossible. There were no balconies to hide under and no shadows to conceal him.

To make matters worse he could see several prominent hero agencies in the surrounding buildings. They were all top rated offices (they would have to be to afford the rent in this neighbourhood), but that wasn't all. Located right next to the Glass Way Tower was Endeavour's headquarters. No doubt it was filled to the brim with sidekicks and maybe even the number two hero himself.

Climbing up the outside wasn't an option. He'd need to find another way.

Pushing himself off from the wall he was loitering against, he started off towards the main entranceway of the Glass Way Tower. As he drew near, he spotted two uniformed doormen standing beneath a sky-blue awning at the doors. Their white gloved hands were gently clasped in front of them, eyes carefully scanning the crowds. Occasionally a man or woman would approach the pair and they, with wordless professionalism, would swing open the heavy, bronze gilded doors for their patron before closing it with a bow.

_Yeah, they probably know everybody who lives in that building. I'm not getting in that way._

Skirting around the front entrance, he continued on the sidewalk alongside the clean, white bricked lower level wall before he came across an accessway. Contrary to the trash and vermin infested alleyways in the slums, this alley looked more like a private road than anything else. There weren't even any dumpsters. Just chutes where garbage trucks could drive under and load up on trash, dignified like. He drew his hood close as he passed beneath a security camera.

_I bet in a hoity-toity place like this all their security camera footage is dumped on a server somewhere. Unless I make a cyber weapon, there's no way I can scrub myself from the recordings. I'll need to be extra careful. The last thing I need to do is leave any evidence behind. I remember that disastrous convenience store robbery…_

Lifting his baseball cap slightly, he cast his eyes up on the walls until he saw what he was looking for. About five or six stores up was a giant metal grate, no doubt an inlet or outlet for the mechanical air conditioning system to ensure that the residents did not have to be inconvenienced with the same air as the rest of Musutafu.

He glanced around. The security cameras had already recorded him, but he was sure they hadn't seen his face. He could still be seen by all the bustling foot traffic and cars from the streets, but he doubted anyone was watching. Kneeling, he carefully pulled out his mask and gloves from his hoodie pocket and slipped them on. Once he was fully disguised, he sprang up from his crouched position. Jumping up towards the vents, he made it about halfway to the vent before leaping off the wall a second time straight up to the grate itself.

The vent access was secured by thick steel bars, but he was easily able to wrench them aside and worm into the shaft. The air blowing from the vent was hot and extremely dry, but at least it didn't smell. Gripping the smooth walls of the interior, he spotted his first obstacle: a large air filter.

Shoving his fist into the fine aluminium mesh, he ripped a hole wide enough for himself before carefully squeezing through.

_Somewhere some maintenance guy just heard an alarm go off._ He thought as he scurried upwards.

Every few stories he came across another filter seal that he had to rip through before his shaft merged with a larger central air flow tunnel. Thankfully the air was cooler here.

The tunnel seemed to stretch all the way up to the rooftop AC system. Jumping from side to side, he scaled the siding as fast as he could. It wouldn't be farfetched to assume that in a luxury building like this, there weren’t special security systems that he didn't know about. As he ascended, he noticed that every few levels there was a small transformer feeding into a series of buses that ran alongside the walls before disappearing into insulated electrical pipes.

_This shaft must also function as the electrical infrastructure for the building. From here I could cut the power to any one of these floors. Might be useful as a distraction, though it could do more harm than good if Shocker gets alerted._

After a moment's consideration, he decided it was worth cutting the power if it disabled the elevators. Hanging from a strand of web, he stopped in front of an electrical panel and puzzled out the meanings of the breakers. Unfortunately, it seemed as though the electrical systems could not be disabled individually without accessing the basement transformer. If he cut power to one floor, the whole buildings power would be automatically disabled as a safety feature.

_Here's hoping you own some candles!_ He thought as he ripped out a large heavy cable.

He moved aside as the humming mess of wires swung down. Upon contact with the wall, the side of the shaft exploded into thousands of sparks as dozens of electrical boxes blew open, casting flaming droplets of plastic into the shaft below. He couldn’t help but whistle at the impressive light show.

_Hopefully they don't evacuate the building._

* * *

Mr. Pencilroy stood up from his handsome oak chair and chimed his champagne flute with his silver fork. Slowly his seated dinner guests quieted and turned to face him. With a warm glint in his eye, he regarded them all fondly. Though he owned many antiques and rare collectables, everyone here was like a treasure to him. The memories they had shared! The triumphs, the sorrows. They had been through it all together, growing and forming lasting bonds that transcended blood or money. They were kindred spirits, one and all. And now, for the first time in several years, they were all gathered once again for his birthday.

'Friends,' he said in a grand tone, 'I am so pleased to see you all. Really our reunion has been too long coming.'

'Here, here!' chorused the table and his guests raised their glasses towards their smiling host.

'I appreciate you all coming despite your busy schedules. We all have our passions do we not? Why just yesterday, the Habblescoon's pulled into port from their latest expedition of the reefs of the Pacific!'

Everyone turned to a dapper couple who were seated side by side. Mr. Habblescoon took his ebony wood pipe from his mouth and bobbed his head in acknowledgment.

'Yes, quite right. Me and the Missus-' he said, putting his arm around his smiling wife, 'discovered a new breed of razor clawed crustacean. The very same of which you can observe in the tank over yonder!'

Mr. Habblescoon pointed with his pipe and the guests all directed their attention to a giant wall mounted aquarium. Scurrying within were several unpleasant looking albino crabs. They gestured at the guests angrily with their oversized pincers and everyone chuckled.

'Yes. We figured they would make a suitable birthday surprise for you, Pencilroy. We know how you appreciate the exotic.'

There was some polite applause at this and Mr. Pencilroy bowed his head graciously. Turning, he gestured to a stunning blonde beauty, made even more breathtaking by her exquisite pearl dress.

'Yes, yes. And of course, there is Gabriella, who just this weekend debuted her new line of women's fashion in Paris.' Mr. Pencilroy said.

Immediately everyone began offering her their enthusiastic congratulations, but the woman waved them all away.

'Hm. Yes, so I did, didn't I?' said the woman passively as she gazed languorously around the room, 'After the showing I was lauded by the press and my entire catalogue was bought out. It was all simply dreadful. Just once I would like to taste defeat. Alas, it was not to be.’

In a second everyone’s congratulations seamlessly transformed to sympathetic condolences. She was a victim of her own genius. There truly was nothing worse than success.

Mr. Pencilroy shifted his attention to a portly, bald man whose prodigious jowls and large mouth hinted at an infamous appetite for debate.

‘And the honourable Judge Hedbean! We’ve all heard of your exploits with that dastardly menace Cletus Kasady! To face that monster in court-‘ Mr. Pencilroy shivered, ‘you’re made of stronger stuff than me, sir.’

The other guests murmured in agreement while Judge Hedbean chuckled and wagged his finger.

‘Now, now Pencilroy. You know I can’t talk about any active cases. But yes, Cletus is a most foul reprobate. It will be my life’s greatest pleasure to finally put an end to this farce of a trial and sentence him to death.’ declared Judge Hedbean passionately, setting his jowls aquiver.

The table broke out into applause and Mr. Pencilroy smiled.

'Good show! But I don't want to spoil all of your achievements.' Mr. Pencilroy said, raising his glass in a toast, 'I am just pleased that-'

Suddenly the room was plunged into total darkness and the table broke out into murmurs of unease. This was most unexpected!

'What's going on here?' muttered Judge Hedbean, 'Is this some sort of joke?'

Quickly Mr. Pencilroy took charge of the situation.

'Do not panic everyone, it must just be a simple power outage. I'm sure that the help will have it all sorted soon.'

* * *

Leaping and crawling past the damage, Izuku at last came up on the rooftop access panel. Prying it up, he crawled out on to the roof. Above the howling of the rocking wind, he could hear the whining sounds of dying machinery as their power was suddenly cut. Checking the area, he spotted another security camera. It was positioned to monitor the rooftop access door. In a flash he shot out a strand of web, disabling it.

_I can’t spare any time to mess around. I need to access the penthouse._

He considered his options. He could either take it slow, re-enter the building via the rooftop access corridor and find some way into the penthouse suite. Or he could swing down over the ledge, smash through the glass, and take the fight to Shocker immediately.

After a second of deliberation, he decided to go in quiet. He didn't know what was happening in Shocker's lair and if he caused much more of a disturbance, he was sure that the heroes would show up to stop him.

Sprinting over to the doorway, he tried the handle but it was password locked. Ripping the door off by the hinges, he tossed it aside revealing a metal stairwell. Leaping down, he ran through the empty corridors until he spotted a series of metal panels that ran parallel to the walls.

_These might allow access to the penthouse. I should check them out._

Sliding one off, he entered into a large white room that had a single, massive tank from which hundreds of different coloured pipes of various sizes sprouted and branched off into every direction. He had found the buildings central water reservoir.

_This is no good. I don't want to be climbing in through the toilet._

But before he could leave a bright orange pipe caught his eye. Written alongside it were the words:

"PENTHOUSE POOL ACCESS"

He grinned. Swimming in through the pool might be an option. It would be a tight fit, but he had crawled through smaller spaces. The only problem was that it was filled with water. It would be an awful risk to climb into a pipe that was still flooded. He remembered a similar situation in one of Power Loader's after action reports. A hero had attempted to swim down into a flooding subway tunnel without knowing how far it was to the other side.

He suddenly got an image of Shocker, wearing nothing but some swimming trunks and a helmet trying to flush out his drowned corpse from the pool filter with a pole.

_I'd need to drain all the water from these pipes first before I go climbing in anywhere. I'll look for another way._

Turning, he came face to face with a large red valve mounted to the huge reservoir. Helpfully labelled above it were the words:

"EMERGENCY RESERVOIR DRAIN. DO NOT TOUCH!"

He looked at the valve. Then back at the pool access port. Then back to the valve.

_It would be the last thing anyone would ever expect…_

He hemmed and hawed for a few seconds, before on an impulse he reached out and spun the drainage valve open. With a booming sound of rushing water, the colossal tank began to drain into some unseen network of pipes below.

After a few tense minutes he heard the tank gargle and grow silent. It was empty.

Turning back to the pool access port, he twisted it open. The cover popped off and the last vestiges of water in the pipe was emptied on the floor. Bending down, he inspected the pipe. It would be a tight squeeze, but he could manage.

Slipping inside, he began to crawl.

* * *

'There we are!' Mr. Pencilroy said, stepping back from the now lit candles atop his richly adorned mantle, 'That will do the trick I should think. And now we have a pleasant ambiance as well!'

He had just finished lighting what few candles he had in an attempt to bring some more light to his suite. His windows shades were drawn and unfortunately the blasted things were electrically controlled - like everything else in the building - and he had to make due with what he had. Hopefully the candles would be enough as several of his guests had been tripping over furniture and the last thing he wanted to do was impinge on their dignity.

'I must say this is all quite unexpected.' huffed Judge Hedbean as he settled back into the sofa, 'But what is life without some adventure? Say, this reminds me of the time…'

Everyone crowded around and listened with rapt attention as Judge Hedbean launched into one of his infamous courtroom stories. Mr. Pencilroy smiled. As long as they had each other they would be kept in high spirits.

Suddenly he felt something wet hit his head. Reaching up in confusion he touched the liquid, rolling it between his fingers. He frowned. It was water. Suddenly several of his other guests felt drops hit them as well.

'…and then I said, "Your rights do not extend to living in other people’s closets!" and he-' Judge Hedbean stopped as a drizzle of water fell in his lap. With a cry of alarm, he leapt out of the sofa and looked up at the ceiling, 'What in blazes is happening now?'

Several stories above them a frantic group of technicians were asking themselves that very question. Power was out for the entire building and some madman had drained the central reservoir. Normally the water would have been automatically dumped into the municipality sewer grid, however the sluice gates and valves were all electronically controlled. The water had nowhere to go and now the lower reservoirs had to contend with an extra several hundred tonnes of water. The pipes simply weren't built for that kind of pressure and one by one they were bursting, flooding everything in their path.

* * *

Wriggling his way through the pipe, Izuku slowly progressed towards the sound of lapping water.

_This reminds me of the entrance exams._ He thought as he inched his way forward.

After several tight twists and bends the end at last came in sight. With a final push he plopped out of the pipe and into a recessed pool of chlorinated water. He had reached the pool filter.

Diving in, he swam over to the filtration mechanism and carefully pulled it off the rubberized seal separating the tank from the rest of the pool. Contorting his body as best he could, he began to force his way through.

_Just a little bit more. Almost…there!_

With a muted grunt, he burst out from the pipe and into the swimming pool proper. As he expected the pool was enormous with twin underwater viewing windows mounted on either side. On his right he was treated to an impressive view of the city and the forested mountains beyond while on his left he could see a stylish private gallery complete with bar and a stage. Despite his precarious position, he couldn't help but marvel at the wealth on display. For a pool in an evil supervillains lair, it was everything he had hoped it would be and more.

After spending a few seconds appreciating the view, he snapped out of his reverie and swam upwards. Breaching the surface as silently as he could, he glided over to the waters edge and climbed out to the white tiled pool deck, his senses primed for danger.

However, Shocker's penthouse was silent.

* * *

'Everyone please!' shouted Mr. Pencilroy in dismay, 'Let's all try not to panic!'

Nobody heeded his calls however as all of his guests scrambled over one another like rats in a desperate bid to secure dry footing. The situation was dire. The water had risen to knee height and showed no sign of stopping as a veritable monsoon was now raining from above.

'This is the end.' Gabriella moaned dramatically from atop the antique rosewood end table by the restroom, 'How droll.'

The rapidly flickering candlelight caught everyone's looks of terror. Gabriella was known for her fatalism, but this time could she be right? Suddenly Mr. and Mrs. Habblescoon began laughing, cutting through the tension with their brevity.

'Come now, friends. What is a little water? Why, this is nothing more than a light dousing! Back in the Pacific we were braving tropical storms for weeks on end!' Mr. Habblescoon said with a chuckle as he attempted to relight his pipe.

'R-Really?' Mr. Pencilroy said, eager for a distraction, 'For weeks you say?'

'Yes. We had to go during the rainy season. You see, the crabs get most excited during rain storms. The little berserkers become positively enraged! It is my contention that-'

Suddenly Mr. Habblescoon lost his footing and slipped off the coffee table he and his wife had been standing on. As he fell, his prized pipe went flying from his fingertips. The elegantly carved pipe went soaring across the room and hit the forehead of a large Tiki statue. Mr. Pencilroy and his guests could only watch on in horror as the giant wooden head began to slowly topple over. Swinging downwards, the face of the ancient sea god smashed into the aquarium, dumping its contents into the apartment. The crabs were free.

'Bertram! Quickly, the crustaceans!' cried Mrs. Habblescoon to her husband as he sputtered uselessly in the water.

'What's that? Crabs? Why-Eeek!'

Everyone recoiled in terror as Mr. Habblescoon was suddenly swarmed by the creatures. Though possessive of only the most rudimentary intelligence, the crabs remembered the doctor and now vengeance was nigh. The pinching was merciless.

'Save me! Save me!' begged Mr. Habblescoon desperately, reaching for his wife.

She caught his hand, but alas her footing wasn't as secure as she thought and she too fell into the churning waters.

'My god…' whispered Mr. Pencilroy to himself, covering his mouth with his hand. How could this situation get any worse?

'How ironic.' Gabriella said dryly from her perch by the restroom.

Mr. Pencilroy turned to look at her. At that exact moment the septic line burst and several apartments worth of raw sewage suddenly flowed into the washroom. Gabriella's eyes widened in mute incomprehension as the bathroom door beside her blew apart, releasing a cascading wave of indescribable filth.

She opened her mouth to scream, just as she was swept away.

* * *

At first Izuku had been in awe of the splendour on display in Shocker's penthouse. It was like a palace in the sky. The tall ceilings and expansive rooms were filled with expensive furniture, striking art pieces, and large open spaces unthinkable for someone who had grown up in a small apartment. Surrounding it all were floor to ceiling smoked glass windows that revealed the glittering skyline of Musutafu. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before.

But as he moved through the silent hallways and still rooms, he became increasingly unnerved. Everything looked as though it was barely touched. Paintings dotted the walls and sculptures were placed tastefully in alcoves, but it all seemed so fake. There was no familiar feel to anything. No sign of homeness or warmth. Portraits held generic pictures of distant landscapes and cabinets were left bare. It was a showroom.

Was everything here just an expression of power for its own sake? Did Shocker bring in guests solely to impress them with his unfathomable wealth? That was assuming there was even anyone he trusted enough to let into his house in the first place.

_I guess there really are some things money can't buy._ Izuku thought with a measure of satisfaction.

Peering around a corner, he saw a massive obsidian door at the end of the hallway. It was flanked on both sides with twin marble statues of angelic figures. Judging solely by the impressiveness of the surrounding decor, it had to lead to the inner sanctum. Feet softly padding forward, he came up to the jet-black door. Pressing his ear against it, he listened.

Everything was still. He couldn't hear any breathing or footsteps and yet his spider-sense was tingling. There was something or someone in that room. He looked around at the heavy doorway then up at the ceiling searching for some other way in. He had already explored this level and he hadn't found any suitable airducts or side passages. Short of climbing outside and bursting in through the window, the only entrance in was through the door.

Grabbing the golden handle gently, he slowly pulled it open. With agonizing caution, he watched as the crack in the door grew wider and wider when he suddenly caught sight of something falling from the door handle on the opposite side.

It was a shot glass.

He sprang back and flew to the wall. As soon as the glass hit the floor there was an enormous boom that seemed to rattle the building. The heavy door and the twin angels beside it blew apart into dust while the marble floor became deeply gouged as though suddenly eroded by an unimaginable force.

His eyes widened at the sight of the devastation. The entire entranceway had been disintegrated. He blinked. He needed to move before Shocker had time to readjust. Springing off the wall to the floor, he rolled to his feet and sprinted in.

Standing across the room opposite of the door was Shocker. Framed by the dying light of day, he stood in full armour before his desk. Gauntleted and golden, hands raised like a king, his helmeted head swiveled to face Izuku. Behind him Izuku saw the Grey Towers and the sprawling slums; the extent of Shocker's domain.

'Spider-Man.' Shocker said in a plain voice, 'Nice outfit.'

Sensing his danger, Izuku immediately jumped to the side as the Shocker pressed the red thumb trigger on his gauntlets. Izuku barely managed to dodge the shimmering blast before another wave was shot his way. Flipping, diving, and jumping, he moved around and between the blasts which obliterated everything they touched. Leaping to the ceiling, he waited for the Shocker to take aim, before shooting out with both his web-shooters. The webs caught him by the shoulders and Izuku sprang back down to the floor, pulling the Shocker with him.

Sliding face first into the tile, Shocker started to raise himself up only to be immediately confronted by Izuku. Shocker raised his gauntlets, but Izuku caught him first. Twisting his hands into Shocker's, Izuku crushed down on the gauntlets, disabling them. The red triggers hung uselessly.

'Hah! I've got you now!' Izuku said, grinning.

'Oh, really?' Shocker snarled as his fingers suddenly curled around Izuku’s wrists.

In that instant, Izuku felt his arms start to vibrate. In less than a heartbeat the movement became excruciating as his very bones felt like they were being grinded into dust. With a pained cry, he twisted backwards, kicking as he flipped. Izuku's foot hit Shocker under the chin, sending him flying up into the ceiling while he landed back on his feet.

With a cry of pain, Izuku tried to work his hands. He could barely move his fingers, much less make a fist.

_No! My webslingers use hand motions to fire! If I can't use my fingers, I can't shoot my webs!_

Shocker smashed into the ceiling headfirst before falling amongst a shower of ceiling tiles and debris. Hitting the ground, he landed on his feet and recovered almost instantly, his hands shimmering intensely once more.

Springing forward, he attempted to grab Izuku by the throat, but Izuku was able to slip away. Ducking beneath his reaching hands, Izuku kicked Shocker's leg, pushing him sideways. Falling to one knee, Shocker again attempted to put his hands on Izuku but before he could, Izuku kneed him in his metal helmet sending him bouncing and sliding across the floor. Despite the force of this blow, Shocker barely paused before immediately getting to his feet.

'Is that it, Spider-Man?' he said nonchalantly, 'I would have thought you'd be stronger now.'

Izuku stared at the man dumbfounded. He had just struck him hard enough to crumple steel. His helmet should be a frying pan! How could he just shrug a blow like that off? Suddenly it hit him.

_He must be immune to physical force! Maybe he can absorb energy through his armour then channel it through his body?_

'Sort of cheating wearing force absorbing armour isn't it?' Izuku asked as Shocker drew closer.

Shocker laughed softly.

'Only half marks, Spider-Man. The armour is just a medium for my quirk.'

'Ah.' Izuku said nodding, 'Then I'll have to get you out of it.'

'Good luck!' Shocker growled as he charged forward.

Suddenly the shimmering that had covered Shocker's hands spread to his whole body. Where he stepped there was only a fine powdery residue; the tiles disintegrating to nothing beneath his feet. If anything touched him, Izuku was sure it would be destroyed. However, he noticed that the webbing he had attached to the Shockers shoulders from his initial attack was still intact.

_He must not be able to destroy anything that has sufficient elasticity!_

He knew what he had to do. Izuku waited until the last moment before dodging around Shocker. Without missing a beat, he leaned down and grabbed the webbing trailing behind Shocker with his foot. His toes were able to grip the webbing perfectly.

'What're you-'

'Alright, Shocker. Buckle up cause you're going for a ride!' Izuku said happily before suddenly taking off at a sprint.

The trailing chord quickly sprang taut and Shocker was yanked off his feet. The empty, desolate hallways were suddenly filled with the sound of clanging metal as Shocker went bouncing and crashing against his walls and furniture. Try as he might, he couldn't find any purchase to halt his advance as any surface he touched was obliterated by his quirk.

Racing through the halls, Izuku ran all the way back to the pool while Shocker shouted curses behind him. Entering the poolroom, Izuku continued to run to the waters edge before suddenly stopping. Carried by his momentum, Shocker went flying past Izuku and over the water.

'Do a flip!' Izuku cheered.

Flailing end over end, Shocker splashed into the water and dropped like a stone. As he sunk, Izuku released the chord from his foot and waited. Lounging down on the side of the pool, he watched the bubbling spot where Shocker had fallen in. He would need to breathe eventually.

After a half minute, a man with short brown hair broke the surface, coughing and sputtering.

'You crazy bastard!' Shocker raged, slapping the water's surface with his hand, 'I'll kill your whole family!' he shouted as he swam towards the pool edge, 'I'll put a bounty on your head so big-'

Just as he started to climb out of the pool, Izuku kicked him in the face. To his satisfaction, the blow connected with a meaty thunk. Eyes rolling back in his head, Izuku watched as the most powerful man in the slums collapsed backwards into the pool.

* * *

Gripping Shocker with his foot, Izuku hauled him out of the water and lay him on the tiles by the poolside. The man who was the Shocker looked nothing like how he thought. Besides his exceptional physique, there was nothing distinguishing about him whatsoever. With his widow's peak hair, his slightly baggy eyes, and lined face he looked more like a baseball coach then a supervillain.

Gripping the loose webbing that was still attached to Shocker, he secured him against the poolside ladder with his feet and palms. Once he was tightly wound, he stepped back to examine his work. If he tried to vibrate his way to freedom, he'd risk dropping into the water and with the webbing still around him he’d have no chance of swimming away.

Just as he was wondering how he was going to contact the police he heard Shocker moan. Crouching down, he waited for the man to recover. Shocker's eyes slowly opened and looked up at Izuku. Shocker briefly pushed against the webbing, but he quickly realized it was futile. With a sigh of resignation, Shocker leaned back against the metal pole.

'How'd you find me?' Shocker asked in a tired voice.

'One of your guys.'

Shocker took a deep breath and held it before exhaling.

'That's a short list. I must admit, I'm surprised. I didn't think anybody would dare talk.'

'Disgruntled employees,' he said, nodding, 'you can't trust em'. Still though you've had a good run. You're obviously doing well for yourself.' he gestured at their opulent surroundings and Shocker merely shrugged.

'I knew getting tied down to a single location was stupid of me. But, eventually you get tired of secrecy. Do you know how long I've been wearing that helmet for?'

He shook his head.

'Too long.' Shocker said, 'In a few years you'll know what I mean, Spider-Man.'

Suddenly off in the distance, he heard a banging sound. It sounded like it was coming from the penthouse entrance.

'Huh. Someone's coming.' he mumbled, before shooting Shocker a sharp glance, 'Did you call for reinforcements?'

'No.' Shocker said, craning his neck around, 'Must be someone investigating.'

He stood up and looked down at Shocker.

'I should go then, but before I do, know this: If by some miracle you don't get implicated in some sort of crime here Shocker, - good luck explaining the power armour by the way - just know that if I find you're free on the street I'll do a lot worse then dunk you in a pool.'

Shocker regarded him with an expression close to pity.

'Really? Tell me, assuming I do get taken out of the picture, what will you do then? Are you going to repeat your words to my successor? And his? Are you going to keep running around, fighting crime bosses, over and over forever? Hah!' Shocker shook his head, 'Good luck with the slums, Spider-Man.'

Izuku didn't spare him another glance. It was time to leave.


	27. Itsy Bitsy Spider

Leaving Shocker behind in the poolroom, Izuku began running through the destroyed halls as the banging and muffled shouting grew louder. Was it just maintenance staff who overheard the battle or had Shocker been lying to him? Whatever the case, his spider-senses were telling him to be careful.

Under normal circumstances he would have just punched out a window and swung himself to freedom, but with his hands out of commission, his webslingers weren't an option. He would need to sneak out the old-fashioned way.

Coming into the main foyer, he paused before the front door just as the pounding and shouting abruptly ceased.

_Uh oh._

Checking around for somewhere to hide, he spotted an angel statue against the wall. Springing behind it, he poked his head past the angel's wings just in time to see the door burst open. Striding boldly into the room came a tall figure wearing a full suit of metallic, white armour with a flanged helmet. Jutting out of his arms by the elbows was the piping of engine exhausts. Izuku recognized him immediately.

_That's Ingenium! What's he doing in Musutafu? I thought he worked in Hosu City?_

'Attention!' Ingenium shouted, 'We have reason to suspect that there has been a villain attack in this building! As a pro hero, I am authorized to perform a search of the premises!'

Ingenium stood still, listening for some response. As Ingenium waited, another costumed hero – who Izuku didn’t recognize - came into the room after him.

'Maybe nobody's home?' the other hero suggested tentatively.

'Maybe.' Ingenium replied softly, 'But I doubt it. I know what I heard. You wait here and guard the door, I'm going to search the place.'

'You want to split up?' the other hero balked, 'Why? If you're right and there is a villain on the loose, we should stick together!'

'I'll just do a quick once over. Contact me if there's trouble.' Ingenium said over his shoulder.

Pumping his arms like pistons, Ingenium took off at an impressive speed. Before the other hero could even respond, he was gone, tearing down the hallways at a blistering pace. The hero stared after Ingenium for a moment before quickly taking up position by the door. Izuku studied him.

Like Ingenium he was wearing silver armour though he lacked the arm protruding engines that Ingenium had. Izuku couldn't tell what his quirk was, but based on his head and eye movements, it didn't look like he could see in the dark. With any luck he should be able to slip past him. Thankfully the ceilings were high enough that he wouldn't appear in the hero's field of vision unless he looked up.

Stepping up on the wall, Izuku crouch walked his way upwards. It was awkward climbing like this, but he didn't want to put any pressure on his hands. Stepping up on the ceiling he carefully shimmied his way towards the edge of the room before creeping along the margins towards the exit. Moving with great care, he at last got into position behind the man. However, he would still need to get through the doorway.

Moving an inch at a time, he began to slowly descend.

_Don't turn around, don't look up. Don't turn around, don't look up. Don't turn around…_

He could hear the man's excited breathing and thumping heart as he drew near. Under the man's breath, he could hear him mumbling.

'Invite a friend over for a quiet dinner…kick down some rich dude's door instead. We're gonna get sued…'

Finally he reached the floor. To his relief, the hero was too focused on keeping watch of the empty foyer in front of him to notice him. Backing away softly, he retreated through the busted front door never taking his eyes off of the back of the hero. Once he was safely past the doors, he allowed himself a breath of relief.

Just as he was about to turn however, he heard the hard, pinging footfalls of Ingenium. Darting forwards, he hid in the corner of the doorway behind the broken door. Pressing himself against the wall, he waited with baited breath while Ingenium ran up to his friend.

'There was an attack!’ he heard Ingenium say quickly, ‘There's a lightly injured man on the floor of the poolroom who claims that Spider-Man assaulted him. I didn't see anything did you?'

'N-No! Did you say Spider-Man? Isn't he supposed to be quite powerful? We should call for backup.' the other hero said nervously.

'Already done. There were several responses. I know a handful of other heroes live in the building. Hopefully they get here soon.'

Under his mask, Izuku paled.

_More heroes?_

'In the meantime, I'm going to go secure the injured. There's something I don't quite buy about his story. You wait here and guard the exit. We can't let Spider-Man escape.' Ingenium said evenly.

'Wait, what if-' The other hero started before suddenly stopping. They had all heard a noise.

At that moment Izuku heard the doorway to the emergency stairwell swing open and sharp footsteps began coming his way. As the footsteps drew closer a bright light suddenly came into view, glaring against the wall by the elevator. Any second now they would turn around the corner and spot him! Stuck against the wall, the only thing preventing Ingenium and the other hero from seeing him was the cover from the open doors. He couldn't retreat back into the penthouse with Ingenium and his friend in the way and he couldn't advance towards the elevator or the newcomer would catch him.

With nowhere to go, Izuku just braced himself against the wall and hoped against hope that he wouldn't be noticed.

_Looks like I'm going to have to fight my way out of here!_

Coming from around the corner, he saw a gorgeous young blonde woman in a purple and cream coloured costume that any warm-blooded man would recognize. It was Mt. Lady.

'Okay, okay.' she said in a flat voice as she walked towards them, flashlight in hand. 'What's going on? I was in the middle of decompressing. I've had a long day.'

As she got near, she looked directly at him and frowned slightly. Her eyes narrowing as she took him in. He could only stay put, frozen in place as he waited for her to make the first move.

_Here we go._

However, to his utter amazement she kept walking.

'Well? Come on, what's the situation?' she said, stopping before the door so she could look at all three of them. Izuku's eyes bulged in incredulity.

_Does she not recognize me?!_

'There's been an attack. One person is injured but stable. We have reason to believe that a villain is on the loose.' said Ingenium from around the corner.

'Where is the wounded?' Mt. Lady said, looking around, 'Don't tell me you guys left him!'

'I only just discovered him.' Ingenium said defensively, 'Besides I can't move him. He's trapped in some…goo.'

'Well guard him then! Honestly you amateurs…' she tossed her hair contemptuously, 'Alright. Here's the plan, you-' she said looking at Izuku, 'watch the door. You-' she said looking at one of the other heroes from around the corner, 'secure the wounded. That leaves me and you to search the place. Let's go!'

At that Mt. Lady took off and disappeared into the penthouse accompanied by the other heroes. Izuku was flabbergasted.

* * *

At the sound of their steadily retreating footsteps, Izuku sprang off from against the wall and towards the elevator. He didn't know how Mt. Lady failed to recognize him, but he couldn't afford to waste this chance! The elevator had no power, but he figured that he could jump down the shaft and exit the building through the utility tunnels or something.

He noticed that the private elevator doors were constructed of ornate cast steel with a brass and black finish, but now was no time to appreciate the décor. The only thing that concerned him at the moment was that the door probably weighed a tonne. Placing his palms against the smooth, polished metal, he tried to coax it open. He managed to part the door a few millimetres, but then it promptly closed. Heart pounding, he swore under his breath.

‘God dammit! Come on! Come-‘

At that moment he heard a distant, confused voice coming from the penthouse.

‘Hold up! Who’s watching the exit?'

'Uh, the no-name in red and blue. Duh.'

'Wait…WHO?!'

He heard the heroes heels skid on the tile as they came to a screeching halt. Less than a half second later their pounding footsteps reversed and started getting louder. With a cry of frustration, he stepped back from the elevator doors. He could grip the doors, but they just weren't sliding open!

'HALT!'

The harsh tone made him jump involuntarily. Spinning around, he saw Ingenium pointing at him accusingly.

'SURRENDER OR-'

Izuku didn’t let him finish. Twirling on his heel, he faced the elevator door and clenched his teeth.

_Open…_

He planted his left leg on the floor and drew back his right foot.

_up!_

He kicked the elevator door with all his strength. There was a near deafening crash as the force of the blow caused the thick steel to buckle inwards like it was nothing more than an aluminum can. Flying outward, the door went tumbling down with Izuku hopping in after it.

'OR YO-u…will…'

Diving headfirst down the shaft, he heard Ingenium’s voice waver as he disappeared from view. The still air of the concrete and steel pit whistled past his ears as he plummeted. Barely ahead of him, the elevator door smashed its way downward, sparks flying as it gouged the sides of the shaft. Without warning it came to a slamming stop as it abruptly wedged itself against the wall.

Reflexively, he twisted his body and narrowly dodged the obstructing chunk of jagged metal. Slowly arching himself forward, he gracefully transitioned into a front flip before landing feet first against the wall. Gripping it with his soles, he killed his momentum. The maneuver caused his knees to pop and he grimaced.

 _Looks like I fell seven stories._ He thought, looking back up the shaft, _About twenty or so more jumps like that and I'll be at the bottom. If my legs survive that long._

As he was gauging the distance he had fallen, he saw Ingenium's helmeted head poke out from the hole where the elevator door used to be.

'HEY! STOP!' Ingenium shouted, his voice echoing down towards him.

Izuku ignored him. Pushing off from the wall, he prepared for another fall. Arching and falling, landing and jumping, he steadily made his way towards the bottom floor. On his fourth jump though he began to feel uneasy. What if there was a trap waiting for him at the bottom?

_I'm moving too slow! Ingenium or one of the others have had plenty of time to put out an alert and there might be an unpleasant reception waiting for me down there. I should change my course._

Landing against the wall, he craned his head back and squinted. Ingenium had left the penthouse floor doorway, but now the other hero had taken Ingenium’s place and was watching him. Izuku couldn't hear anything at this distance, but it sort of looked like the other hero had his hand pressed to the side of his head. Almost like he was talking on a cellphone. Could he be giving out directions?

'Hmph.' Izuku muttered, 'Okay then, I'll take a detour.'

Walking sideways along the shaft, he spotted a narrow access panel. Gripping it with his toes, he pried it off and tossed it aside. Twisting and spiralling in the currents, it started its long descent to the bottom floor. He watched it plummet wistfully for a moment before crouching down. Slinking down to his belly, he snake crawled his way into the tunnel.

'Vents.' he muttered as he pushed himself forward on his elbows and knees, 'They should have called me Vent-Man.'

* * *

Mt. Lady practically flew down the stairs as she raced after Ingenium.

'Stupid…heels!' she huffed.

Rebounding off the wall, she jumped down another flight of stairs. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to maintain her pace. She had never been so humiliated in all her life! The look that Ingenium had given her! Of course she knew who Spider-Man was! She had read the reports…sorta. It was dark! Besides she thought that Spider-Man was a slum gang boss. What was he doing in the Glass Way Tower of all places? No, it was Ingenium's fault! If he knew that Spider-Man was on the loose, why didn't he say so in his message!

In any case, she couldn't afford to let this opportunity slip her by. Spider-Man was an infamous mass murderer - Musutafu's most wanted - and she would be damned if she was going to let Ingenium steal all the credit for bringing him down.

'Mt. Lady, report. What's your situation?' barked a voice from her communicator.

She groaned. Flicking a tiny switch on her helmet's horns, she spoke.

'Kamui, I'm in pursuit of…an unknown perp at the Glass Way Tower. Low level riffraff, nothing I can't handle. There's really no need-'

'I have been in contact with Ingenium.' Kamui Woods interrupted and Mt. Lady scowled, 'He has told me that he has reason to believe the suspect is Spider-Man. Where are you? We should join forces.'

'Um. I'm uh…' Mt. Lady hesitated, her mind racing.

_Think, think, think. Somewhere far, somewhere isolated._

'I'm heading to the basement!' Mt. Lady said eagerly, 'I think that's where he's headed. Probably trying to escape through the, uh, sewers!'

'Understood. I'll wait for him there. Woods out.'

Mt. Lady switched off her communicator and grinned to herself deviously.

_That ought to take care of the competition. Now all I have to do is get ahead of Ingenium somehow and I can get that sneaky little bastard for myself! Top ten here I come!_

* * *

After climbing through the maze of ventilation shafts for a few minutes, Izuku decided he had travelled far enough to confuse any potential followers. Spotting an exit panel, he opened it with a kick and dropped down from the vent to the floor below. To his surprise he landed with a splash. He lightly kicked at the water in confusion. The floors were covered in an inch-deep puddle and more water was running down the walls.

_Did Shocker destroy a water main or something?_

Equally confusing was the emptiness of the hallways. Surely if the building was flooding there should be a few people running around in panic. Curious, he inspected one of the loft doors. They were electronically controlled by a small card reader beside the door handle. Currently it had a tiny red light glowing on its chassis. 

Izuku whistled in mock appreciation as he realized what had happened.

_These doors must be reliant on the buildings central power. When I cut the electricity to the building, all the doors must have locked automatically. That's a lawsuit just waiting to happen._

As he examined the doors, he began to hear muffled voices coming from the other side. Curious, he pressed his ear to it and listened.

'Ooh, my books! All my books! Eek! My paintings! Quickly, grab it! Put it in plastic wrap or something…'

He stepped back, shaking his head.

_Hey, the water isn't on me! Blame Shocker! He's the one who was blowing up floors._

Ignoring the other apartments, he ran off down the hall in search of a window. His hands still hurt like hell, but he figured he had descended enough levels that he might be able to run down the building and escape that way.

Coming to a dead end, he at last spotted a window. Running over to it, he looked outside.

_I'm not so high up, I'm…_

Lights. Streets filled with lights.

_I'm…I'm…_

Flashing, multicoloured lights.

… _I could…_

His mind went numb. The streets surrounding the building were packed to the brim with emergency services for as far as the eye could see. Police, ambulance, the fire department, news crews, support heroes, everyone. Everyone had come to the Glass Way Tower.

He was silent for a moment before bursting into a wild, uncontrollable laughter. He couldn't believe his eyes. There was no escaping this! Every pro hero in Musutafu was probably storming the building right now.

Every room, every floor. They would hunt him down until he was found and captured.

His laughter subsiding, he suddenly found that he couldn't breath. Gasping, he leaned over and tried to catch his breath. His heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. Closing his eyes, he forced himself to breathe.

_Don't panic, Deku! Do not panic! Remember All Might's training. Remember your lessons! You're not caught yet. Just breath!_

Slowly he felt himself return to his senses. He needed to think.

'I can't escape outside. There are too many eyes on the building now and I'd be spotted for sure. I would need to make a run for it and without my webs I don't think I can outrun so many heroes. Obviously, I can't go to the lobby. There is probably an army of police and heroes waiting for me down there.' he mumbled as he stared off into space.

_What if I just find an empty apartment, steal some clothes and sneak out?_

Izuku considered hiding for a moment before shaking his head.

‘No. There are heroes out there with tracking quirks. They'll find me eventually and its not like I can blend in either. The whole city knows my face. Maybe I can leave through the basement? A building this large is bound to have its own direct access to the sewer line. If I can make it down there, I might have a shot of escape. Assuming I don't get detected that is.’

He lifted his hands and tried wiggling his fingers, but it was still no good. If he got in a fight, it was kicks only.

Taking a deep breath, he turned back down towards the hallway. He would need to find access to the building’s maintenance systems. As he sloshed his way through the waterlogged hallways towards the staircases, he suddenly heard voices shouting for help from within one of the apartments.

He stopped and looked towards the door. In comparison to the other doors, this one was bulging outward oddly. From the other side, he could hear a frenzied beating.

'Can anyone hear us?! Please, anybody! Save us!' cried a frantic voice from within.

He rushed over to the door. He could hear churning water. Could they be drowning?

'Hello?!' he shouted, 'If you can hear me, stand back!'

Placing the sole of his foot on the door, he gripped it firmly and readied himself. He was going to rip the whole thing off. Just as he was about to tear open the door, he suddenly heard an angry shout.

‘A-hah!’

He looked over in surprise. There, standing at the door to the stairs, was a frazzled and dishevelled looking Mt. Lady. Her cheeks were glowing red as she regarded him with grim satisfaction. Putting one hand on her hip, she tossed her hair and pointed at him dramatically.

'Stop criminal scum! Surrender now, or face the mighty Mt. Lady!'

Izuku paused. Normally he would have loved the chance to talk shop with her, but he couldn't afford to get distracted now. Peoples lives were at stake.

_I'll save these people first then rush her._

Drawing back his leg, he tore the door open. To his amazement, a torrent of sewage blasted out of the apartment. With lightning speed, he jumped up and out of the way of the sudden tsunami of filth. Mt. Lady wasn't so fortunate. The vile wave hit her with full force, pushing her screaming into the stairwell.

As suddenly as it had occurred, the wave subsided and the flood trickled down to a mere pulse of putrescence. Covering his nose with the crook of his arm, he watched in mute horror as a group of people emerged from the apartment. Their eyes were vacant and hollow as they stumbled outside. No doubt they were in shock.

'Hey! Are you guys okay?' he asked what he guessed was a blonde woman. It was difficult to tell as she was covered from head to toe in foul brown sludge.

She turned to him, her eyes wide and unseeing. He would get no answers from her.

'It was…it was supposed to be my birthday today.' croaked a gaunt faced man as he lurched forward from the ruins of his apartment.

'Well…happy birthday!' Izuku said, before taking off.

_They need a psychiatrist, not a webslinger. I just need to find an exit…_

Running away from the shrieking stairwell that Mt. Lady had fallen down, he at last spotted a vent to escape into. Just as he was readying himself to jump. He heard another voice shout out.

'Spider-Man!'

Sighing, he turned. Ingenium stood at the other end of the hall, his fists raised challengingly. Izuku looked back at him warily. He had really hoped that he could escape without fighting any heroes, but he couldn't let anyone see him entering the vents. He would need to take him down.

'Speaking?' Izuku replied half-heartedly, raising his own quivering hands.

'Face justice, fiend!'

With a passionate battle cry, Ingenium charged.

* * *

Arm exhausts firing with full force, Ingenium aimed himself at Spider-Man. When firing his engines in his "recipro burst" configuration, his acceleration and power were greatly increased. He couldn't maintain this speed for long, but it was enough to overwhelm all but the fastest opponents.

'Yeargh!' Ingenium shouted as he charged, exhaust ports hissing as water droplets fell from the ceiling on the two fighters. Coming to within arms reach, he drew back his fist and launched a mighty, torque fueled punch.

But somehow the blow didn't connect. Fist flying through the air, it swished into nothing.

The next thing he knew he was flying sideways. Smashing into the wall, his armour's emergency airbag system deployed cushioning him from the impact, but it wasn't enough. Armour crumpling, he felt pain shoot through his body.

Fighting against the shock, he tried to stay consciousness, but it was a losing battle. As he started to fade, he heard Spider-Man mutter.

'Airbags in a suit? Weird.'

Then he blacked out.

* * *

Izuku watched as Ingenium, now half embedded in the wall, momentarily struggled to get up before ultimately lolling into a state of unconsciousness. Indented into the central chest plate of Ingenium’s armour was a nearly perfect imprint of his foot.

_I hope there’s no such thing as a foot casting or something…_

With Ingenium dealt with, he turned back to the task at hand. Scaling the wall, he palmed off the vent cover and paused.

'Alright, which way?' he muttered to himself.

He had a good feeling about left so he chose left. Sliding into the vent as elegantly as possible, he resealed the cover before continuing on. Shimmying his way along, he found that if anything the water was helping him be quieter.

_I just hope there are no more trapped people. Though I guess the people I saved weren't in danger of drowning or anything._

Coming up on a forking passage, he immediately chose his left. It felt like the right decision. He may have been up against overwhelming odds, but at least he had his spider-sense to guide him.

After traversing the vents for a minute or two, he suddenly heard rushing footsteps coming from the hallway beneath him. He couldn't see who it was, but from the stomping feet it sounded like an entire hero squad had just ran past.

_It won't be long before they start searching the vents and maintenance tunnels. I need to hurry._

With a rising sense of urgency, he increased his pace. Sliding more than crawling, he used his powerful legs to propel him through the ducts. Belly gliding like a penguin wasn't dignified, but he was moving much faster (plus it was kind of fun).

Finally, he came upon what looked like a central air duct. It was nine metres wide, but only half metre lengthwise. Definitely a tight squeeze. Also, the water flow was much stronger here. The ventilation system had become conduits for the water and the sheer drop had been transformed into a giant indoor waterfall. He didn't know how high up he still was, but based on the faint sounds of impacting water below, he figured he had to fall a few dozen stories yet before he reached the basement.

 _It's a good thing that I have such a svelte physique._ Izuku thought humourlessly as he angled himself down, face first into the duct.

Releasing his grip on the vent sides, he began to navigate his way down. Initially he tried to keep himself at steady speed but he soon found his anxiety rising about how slow he was moving. After a minute of cautious, halting progress he finally gave in and let himself slide down with the water. Despite himself, he couldn't help but enjoy the ride. With the water flowing around him it felt exactly like a waterslide.

Before long he found himself laughing as he fell. Occasionally the waters flow would be broken by a series of beams or a grate. If he hit any of these obstacles, he would almost certainly be seriously injured, but he wasn't worried. By angling his body and moving his legs as he slid, he found that he could easily control himself and avoid the obstacles that appeared in his path.

The ride was exhilarating and after a glorious few seconds he was disappointed to see its end. A churning body of water was pooling at the bottom of the shaft and with some reluctance he slowed himself down.

_Next chance I get, I'm going to a water park._

Stopping just inches from the waters surface, he gently submerged himself. Appearing in front of his eyes was a grid of thousands upon thousands of narrow plates of metal arranged like sheets of paper crisscrossed by wires. It was a giant filter.

_This must be a furnace. If that's the case then I'm close to the basement. All I need to do is just force my way in._

For a second he stopped. Just moments ago in the maintenance room at the top of the tower he had been hesitant to crawl into pipes because he didn't know where they led. Wasn't this the same thing?

_I'm sure I'll be fine. There are exceptions to every rule._

Diving back down he started to push against the furnace. This proved difficult however as he could only fumble at the metal fins ineffectually with his palms. He needed more leverage. Swimming over to the corner of the vent, he gripped the wall tightly with one foot and pushed down on the fins with the other. The thin metal sheets deformed easily under the pressure and slowly but surely, he bent whatever brace was keeping the metal fins in place.

Finally, with a great reverberating cracking sound some unseen bolt or hinge reached its limit and snapped. The filter slid downwards on one side, creating a narrow gap into a new space beyond. After swimming up for a breath, he dove down and entered this new area. Passing by a trio of stationary fans, the water turned cloudy, blocking his vision. Suspended in the water were fine particles of soot that quickly blinded him. After fumbling around for a few precious seconds, he at last found a grate set into the wall. Squinting at the grate through the murk, he concluded that it was a heating element. He was inside a giant boiler.

With a swift kick he destroyed the grate and swam forward. To his relief the water was less filthy, and he could see again. He was now inside a large oblong tank through which several pipes, too small to enter, connected to. Up on the roof of the tank, he saw a plunger connected to a valve. The valve was closed, but if he could get it open it would be just big enough for him to slip through.

Swimming over to it, he gave the valve a mighty two-legged kick, but all that served to accomplish was to send him rocketing down to the other end of the tank. Obviously the valve had been built to withstand enormous pressure. He would need to open it the civilized way. Pushing himself off the bottom of the tank and back to the valve, he hooked his elbow into the locking wheel and started to turn.

* * *

Izuku pushed open the hatch and immediately pulled himself up after it. Breaching the surface, he took a huge gasping breath. Slipping the bottom of his mask up so his mouth was free, he spat out some foul-tasting water. He could hear shouting voices but he didn't care. He didn't want to spend another moment inside that death trap. Coughing slightly, he pulled himself over the hatch and rolled over on to the top of the boiler.

'Never…again!' he wheezed.

After taking a few deep breaths, he sat up and he took in his surroundings.

He was in a large, high ceilinged room filled with giant, building sized pieces of silently leaking machinery. The colossal hulks of metal were being illuminated by wall mounted red emergency lights which gave everything a nightmarish appearance. Occasionally sparks would shoot and fall to the water below as some piece of equipment would short out and die. Wading through the breast deep waters around the machines were flashlight wielding technicians who, between shouts of dismay at the damage, called out some coded phrase that obviously held some grim significance.

'Three-Eight-Four is out! The plate is cracked!'

'Red-Two through Six has been fried! Red-One is taking in water!'

'We've got a new leak! P-C One is leaking!'

Izuku had no clue what they were talking about, but he could guess. The building's critical systems were probably damaged beyond repair. The Glass Way Tower was going to need some serious work before it could be inhabited again.

_Looks like I'm in the right place. The sewer access has to be close, but where could it be?_

As he looked around the room, he spotted a woman in a white hard hat standing on a catwalk above the water filled machinery. She appeared to be in the middle of an argument with someone who was being blocked from view by a cluster of pipes. Perking up his ears, Izuku heard:

'…drain into the municipality! We need to open the sewer valve…'

Fixing his mask, he eagerly leapt up to the shadowy ceiling and stealthily moved closer. Coming around the blocking cluster of pipes, he saw that the engineer was arguing with none other than the renowned tree-like hero Kamui Woods! Izuku kept still and listened.

'I'm telling you if we don't open the sewer valves now and drain this water, the foundation will become severely damaged! Do you have any idea how much repairing a super scraper foundation costs?!'

Kamui Woods appeared taken aback at the engineer's fervour, and he uneasily shifted his weight.

'W-Well if we open the sewer valves, it will be possible for the villain to escape.' Kamui Woods said uncertainly, 'He could-'

'We don't have time to argue!' howled the engineer with frustration, 'Every minute we waste is likely costing us billions!'

'But-' Kamui started but the engineer cut him off.

'Argh! Enough debate! I'm opening the valves…'

Kamui Woods stood there helplessly as the engineer grabbed a large central valve and with a rusty whine, it started to turn. From beneath the catwalk, Izuku saw the grated off floor under them begin to churn and gurgle and the room was filled with the sound of rushing water.

'There!' the engineer exclaimed, clapping her hands together. Walking over to the edge of the catwalk, she peered into the swirling whirlpool below.

'The villain will be headed here now.' Kamui said gravely, 'I hope this was worth it…'

The engineer looked back up and faced him.

'You can't know that for certain. And besides, you're a hero, aren't you? I'm sure that if he sees you here, he'll reconsider.'

Kamui Woods sighed. Walking past the engineer he began to survey the room. As Kamui's gaze drew near to the cluster of pipes, Izuku quickly shrunk himself back against the ceiling.

'You should leave.' Kamui said grimly, 'He'll likely be here soon.'

The engineers face paled and she nervously shuffled away from Kamui.

'Um, well. Right.'

Without a backward glance the engineer quickly trotted away. Kamui remained still and maintained his seemingly relaxed posture, eyes carefully scanning the room. Izuku held back and bite his lip.

As the number seven ranked hero, Kamui Woods had a reputation as a versatile and powerful combatant. What set him apart from many heroes was that he could fight equally well in both close quarters and at range with the root like protrusions he could shoot out from his body. Using these roots, he could swing around, pummel his enemies or swiftly end fights by immobilizing his opponents. In addition, his bark like skin was highly resistant to physical harm. All in all, a capable and balanced opponent.

Izuku immediately dismissed the notion of fighting him.

_I would need to be at my best to even stand a chance against someone like Kamui. I should see if I can't sneak past him instead._

However, climbing along the ceilings was no longer an option. The piping he was using for cover abruptly ended just before the catwalk and he would be left hanging in the open at Kamui's eye level if he went any further. Backing up, he looked longingly at the water. With the opening of the sewer valve the room was slowly draining and in a few minutes the floors would be clear.

_If I hide in the water, maybe I can slip past Kamui that way…_

Izuku hesitated. Wouldn't that be the first thing Kamui would expect?

Suddenly he heard a chiming coming from Kamui. Looking back towards him, Izuku saw Kamui flick a switch on his belt and start to speak softly.

'Mt. Lady, now is not a very good time…'

Izuku remained still.

'What? How did that happen?' there was a pause, 'No, I didn't do anything to the sewage system.'

Izuku's heart leapt as Kamui looked away from the catwalk briefly and gazed down towards some distant machinery. Without missing a beat, Izuku scurried forward and over Kamui's head.

'Wait…Yu, calm down. Yu, I didn't…'

Now positioned over the grated floor, Izuku took a deep breath before dropping down from the ceiling. Falling into the churning waters, he kicked down on the grate with as much strength as he dared. A section of the metal gave way and Izuku allowed himself to be carried with the water. Behind him Kamui continued on with his conversation, completely oblivious to the escaping Spider-Man.

* * *

A few hours later, Izuku quietly crept up the stairs to his apartment. It was late - far later than he should be getting home considering how he had school tomorrow. His tardiness was the least of his worries though. He had managed to dry himself, but his hair was matted and filthy and he knew he reeked. What would his mother say at the sight of him?

Coming up to his door, he pressed his ear to the door and listened. His hopes sank when he heard breathing in the living room. 

He sighed. _Maybe I don’t smell as bad as I think._

From the expressions of the few people he had encountered on the subway though that was a lie and he knew it.

Face drawn with apprehension, he clumsily worked the doorknob and stepped into his apartment. Poking his head around the corner by the coat rake, he peeked into the living room. His mother was there, sprawled out on the couch in front of the muted television.

'Mom?' he asked tentatively.

There was no response. She was sound asleep.

He could hardly believe his luck! Running on tiptoe, he quickly crossed the living room and hurried to the bathroom for a quick shower. As the warm water washed over him, he couldn't help but feel like a mountain had been lifted from his shoulders. Not only had a defeated Shocker, but he had also managed to escape from the Glass Way Tower to boot. All he needed to do now was take down the League of Villains.

For the first time in over a year he felt like everything was going to be okay.


	28. A Big Surprise

Dr. Akatani could do nothing but wait in his vehicle while the security guards in the kiosk he was parked beside worked to authenticate his clearance. Ignoring the autonomous gun turrets pointed his way, he absently examined himself in his sideview mirror. His exhaustion was making the lines on his face more pronounced and his eyes were puffy from lack of sleep. He’d been working so hard the past few days, but even though his body was exhausted his mind felt as sharp as ever. He had no doubt that he was on the verge of another breakthrough. The last time he had felt this way was over fifteen years ago…

He thought back to his first visit to Tartarus all those years ago. He remembered how the strict security systems had unnerved him, how the inmates had terrified him, and the guard’s rough demeanour had intimidated him, but he had gotten over it. In fact, of everyone working at Tartarus he was uniquely safe within the confines of its thick walls.

Situated on a veritable island fortress just off of the bay along Musutafu's coast, Tartarus was the most secure prison for supervillains in all of Japan. Sensors tuned to quirk usage were connected to automated security systems across the entire island, capable of preventing a prisoner or intruder from even thinking of escape. Literally, as the system was primed to operate on brainwave activity.

This was of no concern to him though. Being quirkless himself, he couldn't trigger the security systems even if he tried. All he had to worry about was belligerent guards, but thankfully such encounters were rare and his prominence as a scientist granted him some privileges amongst the staff. In fact, perhaps the opposite was true and it was they who feared him. He had seen their looks, heard their whispers from around corners.

"Here he comes." A senior officer might say to a new recruit, "Dr. Frankenstein. He takes prisoners to his laboratory, and they come back different. _If_ they come back."

"What do you mean?" would come the uncertain reply.

"You'll see, new fish. You'll see."

He would always chuckle at this. His reputation as a boogieman amongst the staff was not entirely undeserved he supposed though it was exaggerated. Yes, it was true his experiments had caused the deaths of several inmates. And it was also true that his experiments had instituted some…changes in his subject's morphology, but that was a long time ago. He hadn't been cleared to work on human subjects for quite some time.

Until now.

With the capture of the supervillain Stain, he had been able to convince Mr. Gizen that he should be granted access to the man in order to test some of his new theories regarding quirk genesis. Though the Nomu was doubtlessly the product of some unknown quirk and not a laboratory, it was still routed in science and from the unfortunate creature’s brain he was able to make great leaps in understanding quirk formation.

He shifted in his car seat and thumbed the steering wheel. Just thinking about his work made him restless. These were interesting times indeed.

At that moment the song playing on his car radio ended and the radio hosts began their inane blather.

'Good tunes, good tunes. So everyone, how're we all feeling after the Sports Festival?' said the overly enthusiastic DJ.

'I loved them!' squealed his co-host, 'The action, the drama! It was just so exciting!'

He scowled slightly at the radio. When he was younger, he had loved the Sports Festival. Who wouldn't with all the interesting quirks on display? But as he got older, he found that he had less and less patience for them. Too much advertising, too many gimmicks. Thankfully he had been so busy with his experiments that he had been able to avoid them entirely this year.

'I hear you!' chirped the DJ, 'Y'know, some people were telling me that the first-year events were a bit lame this year but they were my favourite! The way that Izu-'

He switched off his radio. He didn't want to be distracted by anything. Not now. His mind turned over to the Nomu again and before he knew it his thoughts were interrupted by tapping against his window and he rolled it down.

'Alright sir, everything seems to be in order.' said the guard briskly, handing him his ID and paperwork back, 'Just keep these forms and your identification handy for the next checkpoint up ahead. Understood?'

'Yes, thank you.' he murmured.

The guard gestured to a bunker like tower and the gigantic steel gate grinded open. With an enormous clang it retracted into the tall concrete wall. Putting his car into gear, he slowly accelerated down the empty bridge to the island. His old Tartarus lab was waiting.

* * *

That Thursday morning, Izuku was bombarded by questions from his mother over breakfast. She seemed split between wanting to know everything he and his friends had done and scolding him for being out so late. It got so hard to keep his story straight that he had to flee the table insisting that he’d be late for his detention.

Catching the early train to UA, he avoided the stares from the other commuters and hastily walked to school. As he entered his homeroom, he greeted Power Loader who was sitting at his desk, a faint frown on his face.

'Good morning, Mr. Maijima.'

Power Loader glanced up at him and coughed, 'G-Good morning, Midoriya. How are those reports coming along?'

'I'm almost finished, sir. I only have a few left.'

'Good, good.' Power Loader cleared his throat, 'Say Midoriya, can you come here for a moment? I have something I need to discuss with you.'

Izuku detected am unsettling note of discomfort in his teacher's voice and he began to feel worried.

'Sure.' he said cautiously.

Walking over to Power Loader’s desk, Izuku waited for him to finish arranging his papers. As he stood there, he couldn’t help but get confused at what exactly his teacher was doing. He seemed to just be transferring papers from one pile to the other. Eventually, though Power Loader seemed satisfied with his papers. Leaning back in his chair, Power Loader clasped his hands together on his desk and regarded him.

'Well Midoriya, I would just like to once again congratulate you on your performance in the Sports Festival. For someone with no quirk to win second place is nothing short of incredible. Now- ' Power Loader cleared his throat again, '-your efforts have not gone unnoticed, least of all by instructors Aizawa and Kan from the hero department. Both of them have asked me to extend an offer to join the hero program. You would need to work hard to catch up of course, and-'

'No, I'm fine in hero support. Thanks for the offer though.' Izuku said.

Power Loader looked taken aback, 'O-Oh? I, uh, well that's excellent!' he said, slowly grinning. 'Yes, that's fantastic. Forgive me but, I thought you wanted to join the hero department? I believed that, what with the entrance exam and all, support was your second choice.'

'It was.' he admitted, 'But I really like building stuff and I…fit in here. Besides, I think I can do more good with my brain than patrolling a street somewhere.'

'Yes, exactly!' Power Loader said enthusiastically, 'Well then! I'll let Aizawa and Kan know that you've made your decision. Carry on, Midoriya.'

Izuku turned around and walked to his desk. He figured he'd be asked if he wanted to transfer to the hero department, but he knew that he couldn't possibly. If he was asked to regularly perform acts of heroism it was only a matter of time before he was found out. Besides, he wasn't lying when he said he loved building things.

_What would Spider-Man do without Izuku the support hero?_ He thought merrily as he opened the folder of after-action reports.

* * *

After his detention, Izuku packed up and went over to the development studio. Nearing the door, he overheard Mei excitedly talk about all the phone calls she had received about her commercial and he couldn’t help but grin. Entering, his classmates noticed him and he raised his hand in greeting.

'Hey, Midoriya!' called out Bukimi, 'How was your break? Did you get recognized at all?'

'Not really.' he said as he walked to his station, 'I got some looks on the subway this morning, but that's it. Did you?'

'Yeah, you bet!' Bukimi said, grinning broadly, 'You should have seen it! These girls were all: "Ooh, were you in the Sports Festival? Ooh, your wings are so big and sleek. Can I touch them?" And I was like-'

'Please stop, Bukimi. I'm going to puke.' Kiska said, sticking out her tongue before turning to Izuku, 'Hey Midoriya, what's your phone number? I wanted us all to get together, but nobody knew how to reach you.'

'Um, my number?' he hesitated, 'S-Sure, its-'

'Hey guys.' Saigo called out as he entered the room, 'Did you hear about the terrorist attack?'

'Terrorist attack?’ he said eagerly, turning away, ‘No, I didn't. What happened?'

'Well! Spider-Man smashed up that fancy building downtown - the Glass Way Tower.' Izuku arched his eyebrows in surprise and Saigo continued, 'Yeah, apparently he jacked up the central electrical and plumbing systems. The whole place has been shut down. Maybe permanently.'

'N-No kidding?' Izuku said, with a nervous smile, 'That's crazy. I don't think they'd condemn a whole building just because of a little water damage though. Once they drain it all out, I'm sure-'

'Oh no, the whole place was flooded.' chimed in Mei happily, 'Every room from the top floor down was completely soaked. Also, did you guys see what happened to Mt. Lady?'

Saigo, Bukimi and Moyashi paled. Izuku did his best to look clueless.

'No, what happened?'.

'She got covered in shit.' Mei said and the boys looked at her blankly, 'Like, literal poo. From a butt.' she clarified.

'Nooo.' Bukimi said, waving her away.

'Honest!' Mei said, obviously delighted at their reaction, 'Apparently she got flushed down a stairwell when a sewer main broke.'

Moyashi looked at Izuku and he dutifully shook his head in disbelief. Mei scoffed.

'It's true.' Kiska interjected, 'I saw it on the Hero Board. Apparently, while she was fighting Spider-Man a pipe got damaged and like thirty floors worth of sewage washed her down some stairs. A group of journalists found her and they took a bunch of pictures to prove it.'

'No. Listen-' Saigo said frowning as he looked down at his phone, 'I'm on Mt. Lady's twitter right now and she says it's all fake news. It was mud, not sewage. And she wasn't defeated either. She says she decided to exercise a tactical withdrawal because of hostages in the hallway.’

'Yeah, of course she says it was mud. Mud in a skyscraper.' Kiska said, rolling her eyes, 'Honestly, the only reason why you guys care so much is because she's hot.'

The boys all looked at each other.

'Well, duh.' Saigo said.

'I mean, it's obvious isn't it?' Bukimi added.

'She's pretty much perfect.' Izuku agreed, nodding.

'I think that goes without saying.' Moyashi concluded, crossing his arms.

Kiska and Mei rolled their eyes. At that moment Hiretsuna entered the room. Everyone turned to face her and she looked at them all somewhat nervously.

'Good morning.' she said stiffly.

Izuku stirred. Now was the perfect time to ease some of the tension.

'Hey Hiretsuna, did you hear about what happened to Mt. Lady? Mei thinks she got covered in crap.'

'O-Oh? I-'

'Because its true!' Mei said, shooting Izuku an annoyed look.

At that the class launched into a light-hearted argument about Mt. Lady. During the discussion, he was pleased to see that Hiretsuna quickly loosened up and went back to her usual cheery self. Before any one could realize it, the extra period ended and Power Loader called them all away to class.

'Alright, everybody time to clean up. Don't dilly dally, I have an important announcement for everybody once we get back to homeroom.'

Everyone’s curiosity was piqued. Gathering their things, they all wondered aloud what he could have in store for them.

* * *

Class 1-H quickly took their seats and waited with mounting excitement while Power Loader slowly prepared his things. Finally after what felt like an eternity, he stood by the blackboard and addressed them.

'Well everyone, congratulations on your performance in the Sports Festival. I've never had a class do so well and leave such a strong impression. I know how hard you've all been working and I must say your effort shows. You’ve all accomplished so much. Each and every one of you should feel proud.'

The room broke out into smiles and Mei looked like she might burst into tears at the praise.

'From what I understand, because of your efforts there was a major upset in the draft this year. Not that I'm happy to see the hero classes suffer or anything-' he said reproachfully as the class cheered, '-but I'm just glad that hero support is getting some recognition. To that end I would like to discuss with you all a new opportunity that has presented itself.'

'Normally first year support department students don't have the option of interning with a hero office. But as you've all done so well, I reached out to a few agencies and offered them your services. I think that interning will really help capitalize on your growth and make you even stronger. Now I should mention that though you will be interning with hero agencies, you will still be acting as support heroes. You probably won't be going out on patrol or anything like that.'

'The internships will begin next week and they will last all week long. I'll let you know by Friday which hero office you'll be working with. In the meantime, you'll need to come up with a hero name. Normally I like to wait until the beginning of the second semester before allowing students to choose a code name, but I feel like you've earned it. Try to pick something that will distinguish yourself, make you recognizable, something that represents you and your quirk or fighting style. I'll give you until Friday to come up with something.'

While his classmates began excitedly conversing about their name ideas, Izuku felt his mind go completely blank. He hadn't even thought about what his hero name was going to be.

_What represents my persona as a support hero?_

* * *

Izuku puzzled over his hero name all morning. All through class he ran through names, but none of them seemed to fit. For whatever reason his creativity was failing him. It occurred to him that he hadn't picked the name Spider-Man either. That afternoon at lunch he barely touched his food and instead merely sat at the table deep in thought, muttering to himself.

_Mini-Might? No, no, no. Stupid. I'd be a laughing stock. Arachnid? No, God no. Think, think, think…_

Suddenly he felt his spider sense buzz and he ducked just as a fruit cup went sailing over his head. He looked up in surprise. All of the table was glaring at him.

'Izuku, you've been muttering all morning! Cut it out, its annoying!' Mei said scowling.

'S-Sorry!' he said, blushing in embarrassment, 'I just can't think of a hero name. Usually I'm pretty good at this sort of thing, but…I don't know. I really haven't any idea about what I should name myself.'

'Do you have any nicknames?' Hiretsuna asked.

'Weeeelllll, I do.’ he said sheepishly, ‘I used to be called “Deku”, but its more of an insult. Oh!' he perked up, 'Hey do you think maybe I should choose the name Deku? That could be my thing, like I'm winning the name back or whatever and be inspirational!’

Immediately the table started shaking their heads.

'No, that's a terrible idea.' Moyashi said.

'Really?' Izuku said, deflating, 'But it's like, my personal story.'

'People don't care about that sort of thing, Izuku.' Mei said, sparing him a pitying glance, 'Think about it. How will it look if you have to explain what your name means every time people ask you? The best hero names are simple and descriptive. Take All Might for example. He has super strength. Midnight? She puts you to sleep. But what is Deku? People will just think you like Zelda or something.'

Everyone nodded in agreement and he looked at them all helplessly.

'So what should I do then?'

'Well if I were you, I'd chose a name that reflects how you're like, a really tricky fighter or something. You already have a reputation as someone who you can't turn your back on, work with that.' Kiska suggested and several others nodded in agreement.

‘Hmmmm.’ he snapped his fingers, 'Oh! I know! I'm smart, right?'

'Debatable' Mei sniped.

'Maybe I should be "The Riddler"?'

'What's that? You want to be called "The Diddler"?' Bukimi asked, putting a hand to his ear.

'No! "The Riddler".' Izuku said slowly and deliberately, 'What do you think? I could be like, a super smart riddle themed hero. Leaving clues and stuff…' he stopped. Everyone was smirking at him.

'Midoriya, I say this as a friend.' Bukimi said, putting a hand on his shoulder, '"The Riddler" sounds like the name a pervert would choose. You're going to leave clues around? What the hell does that mean? Clues for the little boys and girls? Are you kidding me? Within a day people would nickname you "The Diddler" and you'd be laughed out of town.'

Izuku let out a frustrated sigh, 'Well what's a nickname for a tricky fighter?'

'You sort of troll people, right? You leave traps and stuff. Maybe you could be called Troll.' Kiska said, shrugging, but he was mortified.

'No! I don't want to be known as the Troll guy! They'll think I'm a fat internet slob.'

'Look.' Mei interjected, 'A lot of really successful heroes take a colour that they're associated with and add a moniker. Take Crimson Riot for example. Hugely popular hero name, despite not really making any sense beyond the fact that he was a redhead with a crimson costume. Just do what he did. Maybe add some alliteration for extra effect and presto! A successful hero name.'

'Hmmm.' Izuku said, rubbing his chin, 'I am pretty green…'

'Yeah! Your costume is green, you've got green eyes, green hair. Go for something green!' Saigo said between bites of his sandwich.

Izuku leaned back and stared at the ceiling.

_Something green. Something tricky._

'Ha! I've got it!' Izuku said and the class looked at him expectantly.

'I'll be the Green Goblin!'

* * *

Across the lunch hall the class 1-A table ate in silence as they mulled over what Aizawa had told them that morning. In his usual sleepy voice, he had said that he was committed to helping them realize their potential but that they needed to work much harder if they wanted to become pro heroes. To their horror, he had casually remarked that he originally planned on kicking out the worst performer in the class to make room for Midoriya, but for some reason Midoriya had refused and instead chose to remain in support.

'One of you-' Aizawa had drawled, his eyes resting on Mina and Kaminari, '-just got very lucky.'

Ochaco had thought they were going to faint. Heck, they still might. Sighing, she looked across the busy lunch hall towards Izuku. He was sitting with his friends, gesturing wildly. They seemed to be teasing him about something. She smiled sadly. She wished her table would lighten up.

Looking around at her grim-faced classmates, she resolved to start a conversation. She turned to Iida. He seemed particularly down. Mustering a smile, she caught his attention.

'Hey Iida. How's it going?' she asked happily.

Iida didn’t return her smile. Instead he nodded solemnly, 'I'm fine. I'm just thinking about my brother.'

She carefully maintained her outward cheery demeanour, but inwardly she started kicking herself. How could she have forgotten about the attack at the Glass Way Tower?!

'Oh, that's right. I'm so sorry. Is he okay?'

'He'll be fine. He wasn't seriously injured. He's more angry than anything else. He had Spider-Man in his sights, but…well.' Iida shrugged.

She patted his shoulder, 'As long as he's okay. I still can't believe that Spider-Man is attacking people.' she said sadly.

'What do you mean?'

'Oh, just that he used to be a vigilante.' she said quietly. She gave Iida a quick smile before turning back to her plate. Now she was feeling depressed. The last thing she wanted to be thinking about was how the man who had saved her and her father's life was a supervillain now.

'Uh, h-have you guys thought about what hero office you want to work at?' Kaminari asked.

'I was looking over the list.' she said, glad for the distraction, 'And I think I'm going to work for Gunhead.'

'Really? Why him?'

'He's supposed to be a top-notch martial artist. I'm hoping he can teach me a few things.' she made a fist, 'My quirk is strong as is, but if I can touch my opponent, I can pretty much end the fight right there.'

Ojiro nodded, 'That's a good idea, Ochaco. Gunhead is really skilled.'

‘Thanks.’ she replied. Hoping to keep the conversation going, she looked over her classmates before settling on Todoroki. He’d barely said a word to anyone since losing to Shinso in the festival, 'How about you, Todoroki? Where are you going?’

'I haven't decided yet. Hand to hand training seems useful though.' Todoroki was silent for a moment before turning to Bakugo, 'Hey Bakugo, where did Midoriya learn to fight?'

'Ask him yourself.' Bakugo said without even looking over.

'Hmm.' Todoroki murmured gazing over in the direction of the support table.

Ochaco considered asking him another question, but decided against it. Peering around her classmates, her eyes settled on Mina who was busily texting away.

'Hey, Mina!' she called and Mina looked up from her cell phone, 'Where are you going to intern?'

'Anyplace that will have me.' Mina said flatly, 'Really, I can't believe I'm still here. I feel like I just got a stay of execution.'

'I know what you mean.’ Kaminari grumbled before shrugging, ‘But we can't let ourselves become distracted with “what ifs”. I was given a second chance this morning and I'm not going to waste it. I think that if I really work hard at the internship, I can gain some ground and make up for some of my mistakes. It’s like, my grades have nowhere to go but up, y’know?’

'That's the spirit!' Kirishima said, thumping Kaminari hard enough on the back to send him face first into his plate, 'Now's not the time to be a bunch of limp wristed whining losers! I know exactly who's going to kick my ass into shape! I'm going to intern with Fourth Kind! Mina, you should pick someone who can do the same for you!'

While Kaminari was coughing and sputtering over his spaghetti, Mina raised an eyebrow at him.

'Er, n-not that I think your weak or anything, Mina.' Kirishima added hastily as she continued to stare, 'Just that I know how strong you are and I want to see you get even stronger!'

Mina sighed and rolled her eyes before smiling.

'No, you're right. I shouldn't be so down on myself. I worked hard to get here and I have to work twice as hard to stay.'

Ochaco beamed at her.

'I just wonder why Midoriya didn't try to get into the hero program.' Mina said to herself softly, her brow furrowed in confusion. She turned and leaned over the table, 'Hey! Bakugo!'

Bakugo glanced over at her, his eyebrows raised.

'I thought you said that Midoriya wanted to get into the hero program? What gives?'

'I dunno. Ask him.'

Mina scoffed, 'What?! You're the one who said he had some big plan to sabotage us all to get into class 1-A in the first place!' she said angrily, 'Were you just lying?!'

'Hey, I'm just as surprised as you are.' Bakugo shrugged, 'Besides, at least it got you to take the fight seriously.' Mina frowned and began to turn away.

'…for all the good it did you…'

Mina whipped her head back, 'What did you say King Edgy or whatever the fuck your code name is supposed to be?!' she said, slapping her hands on the table as she stood.

'That's Baron of Explodo-Kills!' Bakugo growled angrily, 'And I wouldn't talk about names, "Pinky".'

'What's wrong with Pinky?' Mina demanded. She had chosen the name that morning as her hero persona.

'You named yourself after a fucking finger! The lamest finger there is too! God, you almost suck at naming shit as much as Deku does.'

Mina scowled, before suddenly looking at him thoughtfully.

'I’ve noticed you sure do talk about Midoriya a lot, Bakugo. Oh, I'm sorry. I meant _Deku_. That's your pet name for him, right? Its always Deku this, Deku that. You know, you should just fuck him already and get it over with.'

'Hey, I have an idea. How about if I shove some Tums down your throat?' Bakugo shot back.

Ochaco smiled happily as the argument took off. Everything was back to how it should be.

* * *

After school that day, Izuku rushed over to the development studio. The more he thought about the Green Goblin the more the idea made sense to him. The others weren't as impressed as he was, but they didn't understand the look he was going for, the image he was trying to create. Right now, his brain was bursting with ideas and he needed to transfer his thoughts from his notebook to his drafting station as soon as possible. Striding over to his station, he quickly sat and immersed himself in his blueprint stationery. Frantically transcribing his designs, he wrote and sketched before he could lose his inspiration. While he worked, he barely heard the commotion of the workshop around him as everyone started welding, cutting, and grinding away on themed gear for their new hero personas.

At some point Power Loader must have wandered over as Izuku suddenly felt his presence behind him.

'What are you working on Midoriya?' Power Loader asked curiously as he peeked over his shoulder.

'I'm changing my costume.' he replied without looking up. He was in the middle of some very complicated equations and he could barely think and talk at the same time.

'Is that all? It looks like your making new grenades, weapons, and…what is that?' Power Loader frowned as he saw what he was sketching.

'It's a glider.'

'A-A glider? Are you sure, Midoriya? Flight is…quite the feat. Especially flight unassisted by a quirk.'

'I'll figure it out.' he mumbled, 'Also may I come in on Saturday and Sunday? With your permission, I'd like to use the fabricators to assemble my new costume.'

'S-Sure.'

'Thank you.' he said softly as he focused back on his sketches.

_Yes. Yes. A glider. Silent, radar absorbing, remotely pilotable, on board weapon systems. Yes…_

The next thing he knew, Moyashi was nudging him.

'Hey, Midoriya. Snap out of it. It's time for our physical exercises.'

'Hm?' he slowly came out of his trance. Several hours must have passed. 'Oh. Oh! Yes, here let me pack up my stuff. I'll meet you out there, okay?'

Moyashi gave him a concerned look before leaving him. Inspecting his design, Izuku sighed with satisfaction. He still had a long way to go, but in his mind he had visualized every step, every facet of his new persona's equipment and seen nothing beyond his capability. All he had to do was build everything.

* * *

Izuku finished spraying his message against the graphitti covered wall and stepped back. He’d decided that it would be best to meet with Knuckleduster again after all. With Shocker out of the picture, he needed advice on how best to proceed now that the throne was empty. Walking away from the wall, he carefully stashed the blue spray paint can inside a wrecked car. He couldn't afford to buy some for himself, so he had been forced to "borrow" a can from some hooligans.

Turning away he went over to the ledge of the parkade and jumped. Falling down to the alleyway, he drew up the filthy coat he had found earlier and started walking. To the eyes above he should just be another homeless person.

Exiting the alleyway, he nonchalantly walked out into the street. It was dark and there was hardly anyone out. Unless someone got a good look at his mask, he doubted he’d be noticed. Passing between two parked cars, he felt his spider-sense briefly surge. Glancing over his shoulder, he was amazed to see a costumed hero boldly standing on the street corner. The man was dressed in a grey and blue V-necked body suit. Tassels hung from his forearms and calves and a white utility belt was tightly wound around his waist.

Chin held high and arms folded, the hero cast a haughty pose as he surveyed the urban jungle. Behind his back, a crowd of gaunt faced junkies were snickering. Izuku couldn't blame them. Whoever the hero was, he wouldn’t have looked out of place at a circus.

Still, despite how ridiculous the man was; it was a sobering reminder of how much the powers that be wanted to catch Spider-Man if pro heroes were moving in. They must have really cared about that tower.

_I guess it makes sense that they'd be throwing everything at me now. I bet you half of city hall lived in there._ He thought as he picked his way towards the vacant building he had stashed his clothes in.

It was slow going walking on foot, but at last he came up on the dilapidated old apartment block that he was using as a temporary safe house. Going around the back and squatting down, he took a moment to make sure that he was alone. A few times tonight he had felt his spider-sense warn him, seemingly out of nowhere. He was by himself when it had happened, but he felt a presence all the same. All he knew was that something from above had seen him. He couldn't tell what it was, but he knew he was being observed. Needless to say, it was a touch unnerving.

Once he was convinced there was nobody watching him, he slunk through the basement window and into the damp, piss stinking cellar. Holding his nose, he changed as quickly as possible into his normal clothes before hastily climbing into the alley and walking back out to the sidewalk.

Hefting his backpack protectively over his shoulders, he drew up his hood and started off towards the train station. He was going home a lot earlier than he would have liked but there was too much law enforcement present to patrol right now.

Besides, the mood on the streets was weird. There seemed to be a stillness in the air. Even the dealers were keeping quiet. He didn't know if it was because news had broken about Shocker or what, but something was happening in the criminal underworld.

_I wonder if Speed Demon is going to be making any moves to assume control of the slums yet?_ Izuku thought as he walked down the graffiti filled tunnel leading to the subway platform. _Maybe the Eight Precepts of Death are…_

He stopped. Painted at the end of the tunnel was a massive mural of Spider-Man. Graffiti of him wasn't so unusual, but something about it had caught his eye. Written beneath it in big, blocky letters was a message. It read:

"Peace and love from the L of V friend. We want to talk, is that cool? Make a scene at the clubs we like and we'll get word and find you nearby. XOXO"

After reading the message several times, Izuku quickly checked around the subway station. Besides a few transients and some street walkers, it was empty. Clearing his throat, he tried to play it cool.

_L of V must mean League of Villains! Why do they want to meet me?_

The train docked. Tearing himself away from the message before his ride could leave, he hopped aboard and found a clean seat. Soon after the train departed, and as it rumbled on its way, he tried to puzzle out what the message meant. It was possible that the invitation was a trap. Maybe they were friends of Shocker? But if that was the case, he certainly hadn't seen any evidence of their organization's involvement with Shocker's criminal enterprise. It was all very suspicious.

_I'll ask Knuckleduster what he thinks I guess…or maybe I shouldn't. I got a weird vibe off of Knuckleduster last time. Somethings happening out here and I don't like being out of the loop._

He leaned his head back against the glass and tried to clear his mind. Luckily, he had the perfect distraction waiting for him back home. His blueprints were tantalizing him. Even though he could visualize his glider clearly in his mind, there were a few nagging details he still needed to finish working out. Hopefully he would complete his design soon.

The train exited the subway tunnel and began crossing an overland bridge. Looking past the scratched and stained plexiglass of the window, his gaze travelled over the sleeping city.

_I have a feeling it's going to be a busy next couple of days._ He thought as he watched the buildings of the slums go whipping past.


	29. New Friends

Izuku sat hunched over at his desk, barely able to contain his excitement as he scribbled in the last few words of his report. Glancing up, he looked over at the clock. It was almost eight; plenty of time left to get some work in at the development studio. Turning back to his paper, he double checked his report for any mistakes. Once he was satisfied, he added it to the tall stack of reports beside him before rising to his feet. Taking the sheaf of reports in his arms, he resisted the urge to look too pleased with himself as he strode over to Power Loader who was busily typing away. He had been daydreaming about this moment ever since Mei had finished her detention. The last few weeks had been grueling, but his torture was about to end. Finally, he could get his mornings back.

'Here you are, sir.' he said with relish as he placed the heavy pile of paper onto Power Loaders desk, 'I reviewed all those reports just like you asked me to.'

Power Loader took his hands off the keyboard and flipped through the stack for a moment before grunting in approval, 'Very well, I'll check these later. I hope that those after-action reports made an impression on you, Midoriya. Hopefully I never read your name in one.'

‘You won't, Mr. Maijima.' he promised.

'Good. Remember: Always take a moment to stop and think. With proper reasoning and good judgment, you can't always win, but you can prevent a bad situation from becoming worse.'

'Yes, sir.'

'Alright, you may go.' Power Loader said, flicking a finger to the door, 'I'll see you in a bit.'

Turning away, he tried to keep the bounce from his step as he left the classroom. Once he was safely out in the hall however, he couldn't help but pump his fist in celebration. Going to the workshop, he was greeted by his classmates who congratulated him on being a free man. Izuku couldn't be happier. Now he could enjoy the same amount of workshop time as everybody else. Once the workshop period ended, he and his classmates regrouped in their homeroom. Everyone was excited to learn where they would be interning and he was no exception.

'Do you have any preferences for who you intern with, Moyashi?' Izuku asked as they both sat down.

'Anyplace is fine as long as I don't work in IT.' Moyashi responded duly.

'Huh, I never even thought of that.' The idea of being brought in for a week just to fix everyone's computer seemed like the sort of thing that might happen.

'I suppose we could also be told to clean everyone's equipment.' Moyashi said offhandedly, plopping his head down into his elbow, 'Or maybe we'll be cleaning the toilets instead? Or the vehicles if they have any. Washing everyone's clothes, scrubbing the floors, doing the dishes; hey, we could even-'

He felt his enthusiasm slowly wane as he listened to Moyashi's dour predictions. By the time Power Loader approached them with his assignments sheet he was thoroughly disillusioned. Until he read the name on the paper that is.

'Endeavour!' Izuku read aloud incredulously, 'I'm working for Endeavour?'

'Yes.' Power Loader said with a note of satisfaction in his voice, 'When I announced that the support class would be open for internships this year, he contacted me personally to request you. This is a great opportunity for you, Midoriya.' Power Loader said before walking away.

He was speechless. Endeavour had a reputation as a brutally effective hero. Due to his tireless work ethic, he had solved more criminal cases than any of his contemporaries - including All Might. However, capable though he may be, it was widely known that Endeavour was a hardass who expected the very best from all of his sidekicks at all times. Dealing with him might be difficult.

'I hope he doesn't have any hard feelings about what happened to his kid.' Moyashi said blithely and Izuku stared at him. He hadn't even thought of that.

'I wasn't the one who spread that chemical suppressant on Todoroki! It was Kiska who shot those pellets!'

'Ah! The ol' guns don't kill people, people kill people argument. Stick with that, it just might work.' Moyashi said nodding and Izuku groaned.

'Thanks for the advice.' Izuku muttered, 'Who'd you get?'

'Wash.' Moyashi intoned, 'I got the washing machine hero Wash.'

* * *

That afternoon Izuku quickly scanned through the pages of chicken scratch scribblings that were his notes on his equipment redesign. He was just doing his last-minute check up on his gear before he finalized the design on his costume.

While he reviewed, Mei sauntered his way.

'Hey, Midoriya. What're you up to?'

Izuku licked his thumb and went back a few pages. He really wished he had numbered everything. From over his shoulder he heard Mei cough.

'I'm…just…going…over…my…costume.' Izuku said vacantly, as he flipped back and forth between two blueprints.

'Hm. A new costume you say? Very good, very…uh-' she paused to look over the schematic of his suits left arm.

It was a mess of miniaturized servos and microfilaments. Just the arm alone would represent a massive investment in resources. Izuku didn't know how much this was going to cost the school to build, but it was probably going to raise a few eyebrows in the main office.

'Um. Yeah.' Mei said ponderously leaning further over his shoulder so she could examine more of his design. Eventually she was leaning over so far her head was practically touching his. With an exasperated sigh, he set down his work and turned over his shoulder.

'Sorry, but what did you want Mei?'

Mei shot back up, 'Oh, well. I, er, heard you were building something to make you fly?' she asked bouncing on her heels.

'Yeah, I'm building a glider.'

'Ooh, a glider. Cool.' she paused and appeared to hesitate before continuing, 'So like, what? Are you gonna strap wings on your back or…?'

'Nope.' Izuku said, tucking his pencil away behind his ear and crossing his arms, 'I'm going to ride it like a surfboard. It's actually more of a flying wing jet than a glider.’

'Oh…' Mei said wide-eyed, 'Well…good luck with that.'

Izuku watched as she bumbled away to her own station, muttering to herself. He allowed himself a smug grin before returning to his work.

_I probably just triggered an arms race._

* * *

Later that evening, Izuku went back into the slums for his meeting with Knuckleduster. Like yesterday, the streets were calm, though the air was thick with tension. Hands thrust in his pockets; he kept his head low. He wasn’t going to risk wearing his spider-suit tonight, there were too many cops and heroes prowling around. Instead, he decided it would be best to just put a ski mask on under his hood when he got close enough to the parkade.

Walking briskly on the sidewalk, he sensed a police cruiser coming down the street from behind him and he stopped.

_It feels like I'm in occupied territory._ He thought as he pretended to look over the selection of battered appliances on display in the barred off window of a pawn shop. _This peace won't last. It can't. Sooner or later someone is going to make a move to be the new boss. It's just a matter of time._

The police cruiser that had been driving behind him slowly passed and he resumed walking. He was almost at the parkade. Coming around to the final block, he could at last see the ugly, multistory concrete parking complex. As he crossed the street, he suddenly felt his spider-sense buzz. Silently cursing, he abruptly changed his course and went in the opposite direction. He was being followed.

He did his best to walk casually, not going too fast or too slow. He could tell there were multiple people watching him from the rooftops. Stopping in front of the buzzing neon lights of a liquor store, he bent down to pick up a cigarette butt. Pocketing it, he glanced behind him before drawing his hood in close and resuming his walk. It was a three-person hero squad.

After walking for five blocks, he began to get frustrated. The heroes tailing him were showing no sign of stopping any time soon. They must've taken a particular interest. He sighed. If this kept up, he would be late to his meeting.

_I can’t let these guys stop me for questioning. They’ll recognize me for sure and wonder why I’m so far from home in one of the worst neighbourhoods in the city. I need to lose them._

Abruptly turning, he ducked into a side alley and made his way towards a vacant. He heard the heroes crouch down and watch as he entered the building. With any luck they would think he was just another homeless teen looking for a place to crash for the night.

As soon as he had broken line of sight, he dashed through the narrow entrance hall, past some stirring junkies on a couch, and over to the other side of the building. Jumping out an empty window and into the opposite block, he ducked through a couple more alleys before stopping a few blocks away. Hunkering down beside a dumpster, he carefully monitored the rooftops surrounding him.

His spider-sense was calm. He must have lost them. Reaching in his pocket, he produced a black ski mask and put it on. Tucking his hair away, he walked around to the parkade entrance and started climbing his way up. Just as he was about to reach the third level, Knuckleduster suddenly stepped into view at the top of the ramp in front of him.

'Hey! Piss off, punk.' Knuckleduster growled.

'What kind of hello is that?' he said, raising his hand in greeting, 'Really trying to win over hearts and minds I see.'

'Hmph.' Knuckleduster relaxed and moved back so he could pass, 'Nice disguise. You really pull off the crackhead look.'

'Thanks.'

Walking over to the corner so as to be shielded from view from the street, Izuku stopped and faced him.

'I assume you heard I took out Shocker, yes?' Izuku asked.

'Yeah, I know.' Knuckleduster said simply. Izuku couldn't be sure, but he could have sworn he heard a measure of respect in his voice, 'Apparently, they're still trying to sort out the succession. Normally all his lieutenants would have started killing each other already, but with all the police and pro's around nobody's willing to take the first shot just yet so everything is quiet. For now.'

'I thought so. I haven't heard anything about what happened to Shocker. Have you?'

'Yeah, I’ve got a buddy on the force. Apparently, they’re trying to figure out a way to charge him without tying his fight with you to vigilantism. You see, with you considered a supervillain now - congratulations by the way - the prosecution will try to argue that his arrest was a case of hero intervention during a gang conflict. Obviously, Shocker and his lawyer will disagree. Looks like your status as a villain or vigilante will be decided in court.' Knuckleduster said, sounding amused.

'Cool!' Izuku said earnestly and Knuckleduster frowned at him in disapproval.

'Anyway, I'm surprised you're out and about right now, given all this.' Knuckleduster said, pointing his cigarette out towards the street. 'I'm guessing you had no choice but to destroy the Glass Way Tower, huh?' Izuku said nothing and Knuckleduster snorted, 'Well what's done is done. Now about those murder raps you had...'

'My murder charges? What about them?' Izuku said, leaning back against a pillar.

'Well I had my buddy look into them for you and long story short your charges aren't going away anytime soon. They're being handled by a real piece of shit detective named Shibō.'

'Ah. I've heard of him.' Izuku said nodding. After a moment of consideration, he found that he wasn't at all surprised. The government would have still been after him no matter what the police report said, 'Whatever. I expected as much.'

Knuckleduster grunted, 'So now that Shocker is taken out what are you going to do now?'

'Well turns out I got a lead on the League of Villains. I'm going to follow it and see where it goes. Maybe I can take them down too.'

Knuckleduster scowled, 'Don't get cocky, kid. Shocker was a mean son-of-a-bitch, but he was a businessman at heart. For him everything was calculated, cold, and logical. The League of Villains won't be so predictable. Who knows what they're thinking?'

'I'll keep that in mind.' Izuku said, 'Anyway we should split before some hero decides to arrest us for loitering. See ya'.'

At that he turned away from the large man and started towards the ledge before he stopped.

'Oops.' Izuku muttered to Knuckleduster as he turned and began walking down the ramp, 'Force of habit.' he said and Knuckleduster tisked behind him.

_Now to go clubbing._

* * *

The foundations of "The Den" nightclub was practically shaking loose as the packed dance floor throbbed and swayed from the young crowd of jostling revelers. The heavily distorted bass reverberated through the walls, penetrating every available space with its persistent rhythm, punctuated by hundreds of stamping feet.

The Den had a dark reputation for its rough crowds, hedonistic raves, and overly "liberated" cliental. Drugs flowed freely, and any attempt to disrupt the party, whatever that might entail, was usually resolved with violence. The regulars here weren't the sort to blink at a little bloodshed, and nobody would ever call the cops.

Tonight, Izuku was going to put that to the test.

With a crash the heavy doors to the club floor burst apart as the doorman went flying through. Smashing into a crowded table, he collapsed to the floor with the remains of the table's drinks. Everyone stopped their frantic pace and turned to the entrance. Standing there, trying his hardest to cast an imposing figure, was Spider-Man.

Izuku stood still for a moment to let everyone see him in his costume before turning towards the bar.

As he strutted over, the people around him broke out into excited chatter.

'Holy shit! That-that's Spider-Man!'

'Really? That's Spider-Man?! He looks _puny_. I bet I could take him!'

'Dude, he wasted Shocker! He gutted his boys! If you want to take him on, then be my guest.'

Walking through the crowds, the people in front of him hastily moved aside giving him a wide berth. Izuku grinned. He would be willing to bet that if he wasn't wearing his costume they would just assume he was a no-threat, goodie two shoes loser. Put on the mask though, and everyone treated him with respect. He recognized that it was petty, but notoriety certainly had its benefits.

Stopping at the splintered bar counter, he leaned over and waited. The club was pretty infamous among the seedier individuals in the slums. If the message in the graffiti was to be believed, surely this place was as likely as any to be monitored by the League of Villains.

As he waited, he felt a crowd of men and women moving in behind him. He was only mildly surprised. Under normal circumstances, taking out the doorman should have been enough to discourage random acts of idiocy, but there were plenty of violent drunks about and it wasn’t like he was popular with the criminal world. Hell, he probably busted half of the people in here at one time or another. With all the subtlety of a stampede, the surrounding stools quickly emptied and the bartender backed away, pointedly looking in the other direction. Izuku could feel the shadows of the aggressive mob crowd behind him.

'Hey Spider-Fuck, yous get lost or somethin'? You ain't welcome 'ere.' said a deep, stupid voice.

Izuku sighed.

'Spider-Fuck? Really? I-' Izuku started as he turned but then he stopped.

He was speaking to a belt buckle. Looking up, he had to crane his neck backward to see that towering far above him were a pair of heads joined on a massive body. The twin headed giant was stooped over almost on his knuckles as he leered down. Izuku cleared his throat.

'Um, as I was saying. I'm expecting someone, so if you don't mind shoving off please…?' he said waving his hands as though to shoo him away. The crowd behind the giant laughed derisively.

'You ain't meeting no one 'cept the cor-or-oner.' said the left of the two heads and the other nodded in dimwitted agreement.

'Okay, you must be the brains then.' Izuku said, focusing on the left head, 'I don't-'

'Squish!' hollered the right head.

At that the hulking behemoth brought his enormous hands clapping together. Izuku jumped up over the thunderclap and landed on the two headed man's shoulders. The heads twisted around to look at him in disbelief.

'Ogh?'

Izuku rolled his eyes. Grabbing the pair by their scruffy hair, he slammed them together. With a satisfying * _KLONK!_ * the giant’s heads collided and he (they?) began staggering backwards. Tripping, the colossus fell pinning a number of his fellows who had been too slow to scurry away.

'Get this-' started a woman angrily, but Izuku was already moving.

With a slap apiece, he sent the remaining goons flying. In less than two seconds the crowd of punks lay stunned on the floor or gasping beneath their fallen champion. Dusting himself off, he turned back to the bar.

'Right.' Izuku said as he perched himself on a stool, 'Excuse me?' he called out to the barman who had moved to the far side of the counter. 'Can I have a coke please?'

'S-Sure thing, Mr. Spider-Man. Coming right up.'

He settled in on his stool and waited, lightly drumming a beat on the bar counter.

_If the League doesn't make a move soon, I'll go check out another bar._

Taking his drink from the bartender with a courteous toast, he went to take a sip when he suddenly felt another presence rushing towards him. Twirling around, he was grabbed hard around the chest by a blonde girl.

'What're you-'

'Wow!' gushed the girl, pushing herself into him, 'That was great! You took those guys apart so easily! I thought they'd at least scratch you or something!'

'Uh, who're you?' Izuku said, shoving the girl away. Evidently he didn't know his own strength as the girl went stumbling backward. Tripping over a stool, she went crashing hard to the floor.

'Oh, sorry!' he said sheepishly.

He made to go help her up, but stopped as he felt his spider sense flare dangerously. Lifting her face, the girl looked up at him and gave him a toothy smile. She had long blonde hair done up in twin, messy buns on either side of her head. Her eyes were yellow and alive, yet exhausted looking. Almost as though the only thing keeping her going was energy drinks or drugs. Most striking were her front canine teeth. They looked very sharp. While most of the people in the Den were wearing leather and studs, this girl was wearing a high schooler's uniform.

'Such a gentleman!' she giggled, 'Don't worry about me.' springing up as though nothing had happened, she straightened her skirt and fixed him with another toothy smile, 'My name's Toga!' she said, beaming, 'I volunteered to keep an eye on this place in case you showed up, and boy am I glad you did! I was starting to get soooo bored. I love your costume by the way, it's so nice and tight! What's with the mask though handsome? Can I sneak a peek?'

Without warning Toga sprang forward, faster than he was expecting. However, before her hands could touch his mask, he pivoted off his stool leaving her to stumble into the empty chair and collide with the counter.

'You're a slippery one!' she said laughingly as she pushed herself off from the stool and advanced towards him, 'You've got some nice moves...'

He gulped as she continued to advance. He wasn't used to this. Was she just messing around or was she fighting? Either way, his spider-sense was buzzing.

'What do you mean you were keeping an eye out for me? Are you from the… the you-know-what?' he said, trying to keep her at arms length.

Toga stopped creeping after him.

'Mmhmm! You got it. My "boss" wants to speak with you. Hell, we've all been _dying_ to meet you, but you're just so hard to find!'

'Well…I like my privacy.'

'Stalker problems? I can relate. The world's filled with freaks, isn't it?' she sighed and rolled her eyes helplessly, 'Normies like us are a dying breed. Well, I'd ask for a dance, but we'd better not keep the boss man waiting. Here.' she slapped her bare leg and beckoned to him with her hand like she was calling a dog.

'Come on! Come on! Don't be shy, Spidey!'

Reluctantly, he followed her. Leading him out past the bar and into a backroom, the pounding bass became muted as they went down a dingy hallway. The whole while Toga kept up her act, smiling at him warmly though he couldn't help but notice that one of her hands was busy behind her back. For a split second he caught sight of a pink cellphone. She was texting someone.

'Who're you messaging?' he asked suspiciously.

'Our ride.' Toga said, totally unabashed at being caught, 'We can't walk there like regular people. Nobody trusts us. Weird, right?' she pouted before grinning again, 'But I've got a sixth sense for creeps, Spidey. And I can tell that you're one of the good ones. Hey! We should hang out later! I'll even let you keep the mask on, but that might limit the fun...'

Blushing furiously beneath his mask, he had no response but to shake his head mutely much to Toga’s amusement. It was easy to see what Knuckleduster had meant when he said these people weren't like Shocker's group. Shocker would have had someone like Toga killed long ago.

Coming up to a door, she opened it for him and gave an exaggerated bow. Carefully stepping past her, he walked inside, ready for anything. However it was only a storeroom. Crates of audio equipment and party supplies were stacked against the walls amongst faded posters of bands and performers. They were alone and besides the door they came in from, there was no exit. Confused, he turned back to Toga and she snickered.

'The League has a teleporter. It should only be a moment.' she explained, 'So what's your deal? Super strength, super senses, maybe a little speed mixed in? I don't know how else you could have detected me coming up behind you…' her eyes glittered dangerously.

'Well, you are wearing perfume.' Izuku pointed out. Toga's eyes widened and she tucked her nose under her cardigan. After taking a few experimental breaths she popped out of her collar and gave him a perplexed look.

'What? Am I wearing too much perfume? What's the nose news buddy, do I stink or something?'

'No, you don't stink at all. Its just…well you didn't smell like Mr. Two-Heads-Is-Better-Than-One back there.'

Toga twirled a keychain loaded with charms around her finger and frowned slightly.

'Rookie mistake…' she muttered in a barely audible voice.

For a split second he saw her eyes grow hard and her face was no longer carefree and giddy. In that instant she went from a ditsy schoolgirl to a dead eyed predator. He realized then that she was much different from the low-class thugs he had just beaten in the other room.

Before either of them could say anything else a swirling purple mist suddenly appeared from the wall blanketing it in a strange glowing energy. From out the mist stepped a sharply dressed man. He was wearing a vest, tie, and dress pants while his skin appeared to be composed of shifting purple flames. Yellow eyes glowed from his head above a thick metal collar that seemed to float above his body. He was certainly an imposing figure.

_That purple energy looks exactly like the energy that was around Thirteen at the USJ! Was this the guy who attacked her?_

'Ah, Miss Toga, you have found Mr. Spider-Man. Hello, my name is Kurogiri.' the man said in a polite voice as he bowed, one white gloved hand gently held before his breast, 'I see you received our invitation. Would you come with me, please? Master Shigaraki is waiting for you.'

Toga sprang over to Kurogiri's side. Locking her arm around Kurogiri’s, she motioned for him to join her.

'Come on, Spidey! Teleporting is fun!’

He hesitated. How could he be sure he wouldn’t be teleported into outer space or something? Before he could make up his mind Toga spoke.

‘Aw, don’t be scared. Hold my hand, babe. It’ll be okay. I promise!’

He didn't seem to have a choice. If he wanted to take down the League of Villains, he’d need to have faith. Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward. Ignoring Toga’s offered hand, he stood next to Kurogiri opposite her. Kurogiri raised his arms and Izuku saw the swirling purple energy engulf him.

* * *

As quickly as the purple energy had arrived, the mists receded and Izuku stumbled out into another room. He hurriedly glanced around and took in his surroundings.

He was in another storeroom not unlike the one back at The Den. Shelves lined the walls; neatly stacked with crates of non-perishables and sundries of food stuffs or alcohol. One of the boxes even held tiny little drinking umbrellas.

_I must be in another bar. Or a restaurant._

'Mr. Spider-Man, if you would follow me please.' Kurogiri said, motioning to the door with his hand. Izuku stopped and looked around again.

'Where's Toga?'

'Oh, I sent her elsewhere. I didn't think you would appreciate constant interruptions while you spoke with my employer.'

'Ah…that's very considerate of you.' Izuku said.

He followed Kurogiri into a wood panelled hallway. Wherever they were was very still and silent. The only sound was the creaking of the hardwood floors beneath their feet. Izuku looked around at everything he could, trying to find some clue as to his whereabouts. He could tell from the light fixtures and the doorknobs on the closed rooms they passed that wherever they were, it was a fancy place.

_If this guy can teleport I could be in Canada right now for all I know. The stockroom merchandise was all in Japanese, but whose to say he didn't teleport all that stuff too?_

Eventually Kurogiri stopped in front of a curtained off doorway. Parting the curtain for him, Kurogiri bid him enter. Stepping into the room, he saw that he was in a small, softly lit dining area. On one side of the room was a bar with a large, polished wooden counter opposite a line of dining booths. Both the bar and the booths were deserted save for a booth near the middle of the bar that was occupied by a lone man.

The man in the booth looked decidedly unhealthy. Despite his obvious young age, his long, unkempt hair was an unnatural white and deep bags hung under his eyes. From the glow of the tablet in his hands, Izuku saw that his skin was parched and cracked. Izuku felt dry just looking at him.

_This guy needs moisturiser._

'Mr. Shigaraki? Here is Mr. Spider-Man.'

Shigaraki reluctantly glanced up from the tablet he was hunched over and studied Izuku. After a few seconds he appeared satisfied. Tossing the tablet aside, he beckoned to the booth seat across from him.

'Here, sit.' Shigaraki said in a quiet voice.

He walked over to the booth and sank down into the offered seat. For a moment nobody said anything as Shigaraki continued his silent appraisal.

'You've got a nice costume.' Shigaraki said finally, 'Professionally made if I'm not mistaken. Who'd you have build it for you?'

'I built it myself.' Izuku answered readily, 'I had access to the equipment.'

'Oh? So you're a tinkerer are you? That’s interesting. For someone so young, you’re quite talented.’ Izuku took a breath and prepared to argue, but Shigaraki continued, ‘What about those devices around your wrists? Did you build those as well?'

He involuntarily looked down at his web-shooters. He was surprised Shigaraki had noticed them. They were barely visible against the patterning of his costume.

'Yes, I did.'

'Hmm. Interesting.' Shigaraki started scratching his neck. Izuku couldn't help but notice that the skin around his throat was rubbed raw.

'You're quite the infamous person, Spider-Man. You've been making the news regularly for over a year now and despite the best efforts of the government and the heroes, you're still at large. Most impressive.'

Izuku acknowledged the praise with a small wave.

'Thanks. Though to be fair, I've mostly just confined myself to the slums. The whole Glass Way Tower thing was an outlier.'

'Yes, I’m aware of your beef with Shocker. As I understand it you fancy yourself a vigilante.' Shigaraki said, resting his hands palm up on the table. For some reason, Izuku found the gesture oddly threatening, 'And yet you've attacked heroes, murdered criminals, and caused not insignificant property damage to the city. Tell me, what exactly are your motivations?'

'Uh..m-my motivations?' his mind raced as he tried to come up with something plausible.

_What would someone like Shigaraki want to hear?_

'Well, basically I think that our whole hero focused culture is a farce.' Izuku said slowly. Shigaraki said nothing so he elaborated, 'Er, weak and quirkless people are oppressed and held down by society and the heroes are sort of the ultimate expression of that, right? They get like, commercials and, um, are worshipped by everyone just because they were born stronger. But there is more to our society than having a strong quirk. D-Do you know what I mean?'

Shigaraki was silent. Eventually he raised one his hands back to his neck and began picking at the scratches under his chin. Izuku forced himself to remain still while Shigaraki appeared to be considering his answer. Eventually he nodded slowly and Izuku felt himself relax a little.

_I knew job interviews were tense but this is ridiculous!_

'Interesting. Let me cut right to the chase. I have a proposal for you. I'm putting together a team to attack the heart of our corrupt society and I need elite fighters. Are you interested?'

Izuku blinked. This was quite sudden.

'I'm not sure I follow.' he said slowly, 'What are you trying to do exactly?'

Shigaraki drew himself tall in his seat and fixed him with a firm look.

'I want to destroy society. More specifically, I want to destroy the vision of our society perpetuated by All Might.'

Shigaraki stared at Izuku as though he expected something from him, but he had no clue what to say.

'O-Okay. So, you want to what, kill All Might?' Izuku asked uncertainly.

'Eventually, yes.'

Izuku leaned back and resisted the urge to scoff. He had known that the League had wanted to kill All Might, that goon he had detained back at the USJ had confirmed as much, but he couldn't help but act surprised at the sheer audacity of the League's goal. All Might had defeated every supervillain and evil organization that came his way. What chance did these guys have?

'I've got to say,' Izuku started carefully, 'I have my doubts.'

'Explain.'

'Well, for starters it is _All Might_ you're talking about.' Izuku paused for emphasis, 'I really don't see how to defeat someone like him.'

He cleared his throat. He would have to be careful how he revealed his knowledge of the Nomu. The last thing he wanted was for the League of Villains to figure out he was a student at UA.

'I heard that you guys have access to genetically modified creatures.' Izuku started slowly and Shigaraki glanced over at the bar, his expression unreadable. 'From what I understand you had one purpose built to defeat All Might and it was taken out all the same. So…unless you have some sort of plan…'

'I do.' Shigaraki said confidently, a tinge of a smile on his cracked lips, 'But I am not willing to divulge the details of my plan to just anybody who asks. How did you learn about the Nomu?'

'I heard about it from the attack at the Unforeseen Simulation Joint at UA.' Izuku said with a shrug.

'That information was not made public though. Do you have a source at UA?' Shigaraki asked.

'Not a person, no. I got my hands on a student's cellphone.'

Izuku was grateful for his mask. Without it he was certain that Shigaraki would see through him instantly.

'I see. Well yes, it's true. My Nomu was defeated by All Might. A miscalculation on my part, but the battle was very close. All Might is becoming weaker by the day and I can always build more Nomu. However, I'm not planning on attacking All Might directly this time. You see, I'm planning an attack on All Might's legacy itself.'

Izuku resisted the urge to fidget. Could that mean another attack on the school? He needed more information. Before he could ask him any more questions though Shigaraki spoke again.

'That is all I am willing to say for now.' he said, straightening his shoulders against the red, cushioned booth, 'So. What say you? Are you interested in joining the League? We have considerable resources at our disposal, and it seems as though our goals align. I'm tired of dealing with incompetent henchman and I think that someone with your abilities would be well suited to accomplishing my goals.'

‘Do I, uh, get paid?’ Izuku asked uncertainly. He didn’t know what else to say.

‘If you want money.’ Shigaraki said casually as though such a thing as money was pointless, ‘Or we can help you out in other ways. Allies can come in handy and I promise you; I am a powerful friend…and an even worse enemy.’

He gulped. 'A-Alright. Uh, so like when is this happening or…?'

'Check in with us next Friday at the club where you found Toga. I should have the rest of the team assembled by then.'

'Um. Okay.' Izuku said tentatively, _I'm in just like that?_ 'So-'

'I will return you to wherever you would like to go, Mr. Spider-Man.' Kurogiri said behind him. Izuku looked around to the bartender than back to Shigaraki. He had picked up his tablet again. Evidently the meeting was over.

Standing, Izuku looked down at Shigaraki and hesitated. He had a thousand questions he wanted to ask, but he didn't want to appear too nosy. This was a golden opportunity that he couldn’t afford to screw up. With any luck he could have the whole league defeated in one fell swoop. Deciding to play it safe, he left Shigaraki undisturbed. Instead he turned and went over to Kurogiri who was busily polishing the gleaming bar surface.

'Uh, can you send me back to the slums please? A nice quiet place, if you don't mind.'

'Certainly.' Kurogiri said and with a wave of his hand Izuku felt the purple mist envelope him once more.

* * *

When the mists receded Izuku found himself standing outside in the dark. Checking his surroundings, he saw that he was under a highway overpass next to an astonished camp of homeless people who had taken refuge near a gurgling storm drain.

'Ho, man! Y-You see that?' squawked one of them in amazement, 'It's Spider-Man!' The others muttered uneasily and shared nervous glances.

Izuku ignored them and instead took a moment to get his bearings. Across the storm runoff canal, he could see the Grey Towers looming off in the distance. As long as he could see those he was in familiar territory.

Shooting out a web, he took off swinging from column to column across the bridge and back towards home. He needed to think things through.

A few minutes later he was climbing back through his bedroom window. He couldn't deny that his meeting with the League of Villains had been a success, but what had he gotten himself into? The League definitely wasn't operating like a normal criminal syndicate, and he had no idea what might happen during their next Friday meeting. Changing out of his costume, he climbed into his bed and sighed. He would need to work extra hard this weekend to make up for his new obligation as a super villain. Honestly, he was amazed that he still had any time left in the day at all.

'Double...lives...are...so...hard.' He mumbled before drifting away to sleep.

* * *

Meanwhile, Dr. Akatani was seated on a high stool in front of a microscope at his old Tartarus laboratory, puzzling over some of the tissue samples that he had extracted from the Nomu. He had originally planned on using his first couple of days at Tartarus to get all of his old equipment back up and running again, but to his delight everything was exactly as he had remembered it. According to his escort, once his program had been cancelled all those years ago rather than move his research apparatus into storage, the guards had merely sealed off that wing of the prison and left everything untouched.

And so with little else to do, he had immediately began pouring over his latest specimens. He wasn't sure what it was about the cold, damp, darkened stone of his Tartarus Lab, but he had always seemed to do his best work there. Even now after being absent for over a decade he was able to immediately pick up where he had left off. Maybe coming back to Musutafu was exactly what he needed.

'Excuse me, Dr. Akatani?'

He jumped. Looking up from his microscope, he saw a uniformed guard standing beside him. He hadn't heard the man enter.

'It's after allowed hours. You'll need to accompany me to the exit now.'

'Eh? Is it closing time already?' He squinted across the room to the wall mounted clock. To his surprise it was past midnight. He had been so immersed in his work, that he had lost track of time.

'Afraid so, doc.' said the guard, tucking his thumbs into his pistol belt, 'Whatever you're working on, it will have to wait until tomorrow.'

He nodded before shutting off his microscope and stepping off his stool. He didn't bother trying to argue with the man. At Tartarus, the security protocols were sacrosanct. Walking out of the lab, he and the guard passed by a large glass holding cell. Inside it, the hero killer Stain was sitting with his legs crossed and his eyes closed; meditating.

_I wonder how he will respond to the treatment?_ Dr. Akatani mused as he shut off the lights in his lab.

In his experience, even the most stoic of subjects cracked under the strain of his mutagenetic serums. What was more interesting was how Stain's body would react. Experience told him that he would simply mutate and die on the operating table, but this time he felt sure things would be different. He wouldn't have to wait long to find out. The last remaining batch of his prized spider serum was arriving on Monday.

'So doc, if I may ask…All these medical experiments; you tryin' to cure cancer or somethin'?' asked the guard as they walked down the quiet hallway.

Dr. Akatani chuckled, 'Or something. Yes.'


	30. Weekend Treachery

Awareness slowly returned to Izuku as his alarm blared. Yawning, he tried to rub the sleep from his eyes. His rest had been entirely too short. Reaching over to his phone, he deactivated his alarm before burying his head in his pillows. The sun wasn't up yet, but even the tell-tale rays of light on the clouds were blinding.

_What I wouldn't give for just one Saturday off...Aw, who am I kidding. I'd just patrol anyway._

Forcing himself out of bed, he reluctantly went over to his dresser and pulled on some clean clothes. He had a lot of work to do over the weekend if he wanted to have his new costume finished before he was bogged down in his internship. After eating breakfast and grabbing the packed lunch his mother had made for him, he went to the subway station and boarded the train to UA. Taking his usual spot, he pulled out his phone and scowled.

_Stupid screen! That's it, as soon as I get to the workshop, I'm replacing this-_

He stopped. His spider-sense was tingling. Glancing up, he was taken aback to see that half of the people in the train car were gawking at him.

'Uh...'

Resisting the urge to facepalm, he quickly went for his headphones. Maybe nobody would bother him if they thought he was listening to something. Pushing the earbuds in, he carefully kept his eyes on his cracked phone screen though he knew they were still staring. Even though he wasn’t in his uniform they had recognized him right away.

_And here I was hoping that Spider-Man's shenanigans would have distracted everyone. Oh well._

A minute later the car filled and the train started moving. Thankfully his earbud strategy seemed to work as nobody approached him, however he couldn't help but overhear the whispered conversations of the other passengers.

'That's him! He really is a little short, isn't he? He's young though, there's still hope!' said one woman to her younger companion causing him to blush.

_You can say that again._ Izuku thought. Hopefully he inherited his dad's height.

To his dismay, a group of teens also spotted him and they wasted no time in sizing him up.

'I mean…if you think about it, he only had one good fight and he lost. With my quirk advantage I bet if I rushed him, I could take him. He’s just sitting there.' whispered a boy Izuku's age to his friends.

'What about the brunette with the stick?' pointed out one of his buddies.

'Oh, whatever. She doesn't count. She had no idea what she was doing. The way she was waving that stick around during her fight with that commercial mascot chick. I mean honestly!’

‘He defeated that pink acid girl though.’

‘So? Give me some Pepto-Bismol and I could have done the same. Speaking of, did you see the Benny Hill edit of his fight with her! It’s hilarious!’

He could do nothing but listen with mounting frustration as the boys went over the events for the rest of the train ride. From the way they were talking, it seemed as though the internet had labelled the hero classes a big joke. He couldn't imagine how Class 1-A and B must be feeling.

Arriving at the station, he quickly left the train and started fast walking to UA. The streets were more crowded now, and as he went he noticed that he was catching quite a few looks. Along the way, he passed by a group of young adults and from over his shoulder he heard one of the men mutter:

'That's him huh? Pfft. Cheater.'

'Yeah. If you have to use weapons then it doesn't count in my book.' his friend said back quietly.

'His victory was all political. What a joke.'

He nearly stopped. Their comments made him madder then they should have, but he knew that if he said or did something about them he would only make things a hundred times worse for himself. So, telling himself they were just jealous, he bit his tongue and increased his pace. If the hero classes were dealing with being mocked, then what right did he have to say anything?

* * *

Arriving at UA, Izuku hustled over to the development studio. The commute had set him on edge and he was anxious for a distraction. Entering the workshop, he was pleased to see that besides himself the only other person present was Power Loader.

'Good morning, Midoriya. Do you have all of your schematics for your costume ready?' he asked as Izuku put his things by his station.

'Yes, sir. They're all ready to go.' he replied as he walked over to the fabricator, USB stick in hand.

'Excellent. I must admit I'm curious to see your new costume. This is your third iteration correct?'

He glanced up from the fabricator computer. His spider sense was tingling.

'Yes, sir.' he said carefully.

'Yes, I remember. You had built your first suit, but it was too heavy for you. Didn't you end up having to reprint the whole thing?'

Izuku swallowed and focused back on the computer screen. He hadn't expected this discussion.

'Y-Yeah.'

'Whatever happened to your first suit? As I recall, you only had it for that first lesson with All Might before remaking it that very afternoon.'

'Uh, I-I got rid of it. R-Recycled it I should say.'

'You did? Hm. I don't remember seeing it on my outgoing inventory. Now that I think about it…hmm...'

Power Loader fell silent and Izuku scrambled for something to say. He had to change the subject before Power Loader started to consider all of his loose ends.

'So, uh, Mr. Maijima I was wondering, um, what do you think Endeavour will have me do as an intern?'

Power Loader kept silent and he felt his spider sense twinge again.

'Mr. Maijima?' he repeated nervously.

Power Loader blinked and looked up.

'Oh, yes. Sorry. From what I understand most of the Musutafu Hero Agencies are currently investigating the attack on the Glass Way Tower, including Endeavour's. I don't know to what capacity Endeavour is involved in that case, but I would imagine he has a lot of evidence to sift through. Surveillance footage, damage reports, finger prints, DNA, who knows? Then again it may be that he doesn't want an intern working on something as tedious as reviewing evidence.'

'I see…' Izuku said thoughtfully before grinning, 'Maybe I'll crack the case and apprehend Spider-Man!'

'Maybe you will.' Power Loader replied in a half serious voice, 'These sorts of cases can drag out for years. It could be that you'll do some DNA lab work on some hair or a sample of blood, then five or ten years later an arrest is made when Spider-Man visits the hospital. It's happened before.'

'O-Oh, really? That's interesting.' Izuku said before turning his attention back to the fabricator.

_I guess there is no point in worrying about DNA evidence. The government already has it!_

'Anyway, I'm sure he'll make good use of you. Endeavour doesn't let things go to waste.'

At that moment Mei strolled into the studio and Izuku perked up. Mei was a walking diversion, he just needed to get her talking.

'Morning.' she said with a yawn, 'How're you both doing?'

'Hi, Mei.' he said quickly, 'What are you building today?'

'I'm not sure.' Mei replied as she crossed the room, 'Something cool I hope.'

Mei dropped her backpack by her chair before skipping over to Power Loader's desk. As she began yammering away in his ear, Izuku carefully backed away to his workbench. To his relief, Mei launched into her usual routine of nonstop questioning. As she and Power Loader talked, Izuku kept a close eye on them. The fabricator was still loudly rattling away, but his spider-sense was calm. Power Loader must have forgotten all about him and his missing costume problem.

_Crisis averted._ He thought with a sigh of relief.

Opening the drawer on his workbench, he brought out his tools and started work on his new grenades. In order to save himself some time, he decided to make a general-purpose grenade template. This template would have multiple detonation settings (proximity, on contact, timed, remote control, etc.) while also supporting a wide variety of payloads. There would be high explosive of course, but also more exotic effects as well. EMP for electronics, hallucinogenic gas, highly pressurized acid, incendiary clouds, shrapnel airbursts, and more besides. The idea was to be as unpredictable and devastating as possible.

As the hours rolled by, Izuku and Mei chatted. Mei had gotten an internship at a prestigious design studio and appeared to be split between being ecstatic at the possible business connections she could form and being paranoid that they would steal her brand. Izuku tried reasoning with her, but to no avail.

'Mei, I think you're overreacting. I mean what brand do you even have for them to steal? You don't have a company yet.' Izuku said as he configured his proximity sensors.

'What?!' Mei said in shock, 'I have a brand! I'm the spunky girl with pink hair! I have a get in your face attitude and a delightfully flirtatious yet family friendly demeanour!'

'How original.' Izuku muttered to himself before speaking up, 'Mei, listen: If your brand is entirely personality driven, what's there for them to steal? Unless they start dying their hair and wearing tank tops, I wouldn't worry about it.'

'I guess that's true…' Mei said thoughtfully as she chewed her pencil, 'But they could still steal my babies from me!'

He frowned and looked over at the pile of "babies" by Mei's workstation. It seemed as though she never stopped building. From what he could understand, most of her stuff was useless junk, but every so often she would create something that was actually sort of inspired.

'Where do you find the time to make all that stuff, Mei?' he asked, shaking his head, 'Do you spend all your free time in here?'

'Oh, Mr. Maijima lets me come and make babies with him all the time! Isn't that right, Mr. Maijima?' Mei said happily.

Power Loader instantly spat out his coffee and Izuku burst out laughing.

'Wh-Wh-What?!' Power Loader sputtered out between choking gasps.

'Huh? What did I say?' Mei said, frowning as she looked between them.

'N-N-Nothing.' Izuku said, gasping for breath.

* * *

Izuku and Mei continued to work throughout the day. Occasionally the fabricator would chime and he would remove the finished piece of his costume before restarting it for his next segment of armour. Because of the complexity of his design, he had to machine the armour in pieces before assembling them together on his bench. Finally, as the day drew to a close, he had printed out his full suit on a mannequin. Standing back, he admired his creation.

Tiny, interlocking emerald scales of light weight, high strength composite materials ran alongside the arms, legs and joints which gracefully connected with larger plated segments protecting his back, chest, thighs and stomach. Each piece had been specifically tailored to his physique and could be easily swapped out and replaced in case of damage. Beneath the environmentally sealed and electrically insulated armour lay a complicated network of micro circuitry and sensors that all fed into the central computer built into his new helmet.

It looked perfect! He was so distracted by how cool it looked that he didn't even realize Mei and Power Loader had went over until they were standing right beside him.

'So? What do you think?' Izuku said turning to them, 'Pretty sweet suit, right?'

Power Loader shook his head in amazement as his fingers traced the intricate, interconnecting pieces.

'This is professional quality work, Midoriya. I must admit, I'm impressed.'

He blushed at the praise.

'Man…Izuku…it's certainly something.' Mei said in a hushed voice and he felt an immense satisfaction at the awe in her voice, 'But, what's with the helmet? Did you have to make it look so…evil?'

'Huh?' he said in surprise. Turning, he looked at his helmet. Beneath the yellow eyes of his sealed mask he had put a delightful smile, its lips turned upward in a subtle hint of mischievousness.

'Are you talking about the smile?' he asked and Mei nodded, 'Oh, that. Well I wanted to reference All Might in my design and he's always smiling, you know? So I thought it would be fun to have the mask be smiling! Like, I'm a helpful rogue or something. It's cute!'

'It's demonic.' Mei murmured, grimacing as she considered it from a new angle.

'Yeah, okay. Whatever you say, Mei. It's nice and friendly. Kids will love it!' Izuku declared crossing his arms.

'Why don't you try it on? Go for a spin.' she suggested as she gave it an experimental poke.

'I can't.' he said with a disappointed sigh, 'I still need to program it. The computer that controls everything is basically a blank slate. If I put it on now, I'd barely be able to move.'

He was lying of course. While it was true that the suit's computer was currently inoperable, he would still be able to just brute force his way through any movements he required thanks to his super strength.

'Shame.' Mei said with a shrug, 'I thought you were building a glider too. When are you going to have that thing ready?'

'Soon I hope. I've never built anything that could fly before.' Izuku said as he threw a white sheet over his armour.

'Oh! Well then! If you need any help, just ask! I've built lots of flying babies!'

'I was hoping you'd say that actually. There are so many variables I barely know where to begin if I'm being honest.'

Packing up his things, he and Mei said goodbye to Power Loader before leaving the development studio together. As they went through the halls, they began discussing the finer points of rocket and jet propulsion. Unsurprisingly, Mei seemed to know quite a bit about making things explode and fly. As they passed by a bank of windows overlooking the grounds, their conversation was interrupted by the sight of several members of class 1-A walking across the yard. From the looks of them, they had just finished exercising at one of the training buildings and were heading back to the school to change. Judging by their rough appearance, they had really been going at it hard.

'I guess class 1-A has been busy too. Have any of them asked you for help improving their costume yet?' Mei asked.

'Nope. What about you?'

'Naw me neither. I can't imagine why. What with the upcoming internships and everything, I thought they'd want to make some last-minute improvements to their gear before meeting the pro's. I mean, come on! I showcased my best babies at the Sports Festival and everything!' Mei paused and rubbed her chin, 'Hmmm.'

'What?'

'I wonder if they're still mad?'

He let out a carefree laugh.

'I doubt it, Mei.' he said confidently, 'It was a competition! I can understand them getting fired up during the festival itself, but that was almost a week ago! If anything, they're probably thankful for the challenge.'

'If you say so.' Mei said skeptically.

* * *

Mineta limped behind the pack of his classmates, trying his best to keep pace with everyone. Every step he took fresh pain shot through his body, but he stifled his cries to mere whimpers as best he could. When he had first learned that the girls of his class had all planned-on training together that weekend he had leapt at the chance to exercise, fraternize, and maybe even mesmerize them with his Adonis like physique. Unfortunately, when he had arrived at the training centre ("Oh, what are you all doing here? Me? I'm just training, building my body and mind, you know; being the best I can.") they had immediately seen through his masterful attempts to ogle them in their Not-Really-Skimpy-But-Eh-Close-Enough (NRSBESE) gym uniforms. To his dismay they had decided to use him as target practice for their techniques and had pummelled him mercilessly.

Gritting his teeth, he focused on just making it to the change rooms. If he was lucky, maybe he could sneak a peek into their showers. The thought imbued him with new found strength and he increased his speed. However, his pained smile quickly disappeared when he spotted Izuku and his squeeze Mei strolling past the windows of the main building. He remembered those two jerks from the Sports Festival. Last week during the cavalry battle, it had been Izuku who pushed him off Koda and Mei who mercilessly stepped on his grapes. Now he wasn't picky - physical contact was its own reward after all - but there was a limit.

'Well, well, well.' Mineta muttered loudly enough so the others could hear, 'Look who's up by the window.'

Everyone stopped talking and looked. There were several uneasy murmurs as they saw Mei and Izuku.

'It's Midoriya!' Jiro exclaimed, 'And it looks like he's with that girl you fought Momo. Hatsume I think it was? What are they doing here on a Saturday I wonder?'

'Probably training I would imagine.' Momo said, 'Or maybe they're just doing homework. I heard that the support class curriculum is very strenuous.'

'Hey, I have an idea.' Mineta said, smiling snidely, 'Seeing as how the support class is always snooping on us, what's say we snoop a little on them?'

'Do you mean…eavesdrop?' Toru said in a scandalized tone, 'Why, I would never!'

'Let them have their privacy, Mineta.' Momo said disapprovingly.

'But…but…what are they working on though? What if it's some devious weapon to take us out again?' he whined.

Most of the girls waved him away, but he noticed that Mina and Tsuyu glanced at each other worriedly. They had suffered the most as a result of Izuku's treachery during the Sports Festival and no doubt they didn't want to lose any more points with Aizawa. Mineta sensed an opportunity, and within the dark recesses of his perverse mind, a crude plan began to form.

Momo must have noticed his expression as she quickly stopped and faced him, 'Mineta, whatever you're thinking of doing, you'd better stop it! I order you as class vice-president to obey me!'

To Momo's horror, Mineta shuddered with pleasure at her rebuke. He'd save that sound bite for later.

'Sorry mistress…' he simpered, 'but I can't just stand idle! What if you're in danger? I won't let you- Oh, sorry! - _Us_ be humiliated again.'

Momo turned her head away in disgust and several of the other girls rolled their eyes contemptuously. But not Mina and Tsuyu. Mineta smiled evilly. His argument had struck a chord with them it seemed. All it would take now was some tenuous reasoning and subtle suggestion.

'Well you can all do what you want, but don't blame me when you get taken out by anthrax or something the next time we fight the support class.' Mineta said haughtily as he pulled away from the group and started moving towards the school doors, 'Afterall, Mr. Aizawa said we should be more vigilant, so that's what I'm going to do.'

At that he walked away from them, shoulders squared, heedless of the warnings shouted his way by Momo and the others. Resisting the urge to turn around and see if his gambit had worked, he kept his body rigid and his stride purposeful. He needed to appear resolute and steadfast. Coming up on the main building, he pushed open the doors and went down the hallway towards where he had last seen Izuku and Mei. With a clang the doors shut behind him. He held his breath and waited. After a few seconds he heard the door behind him bang open again.

'Mineta! Wait up.'

A devious little grin formed on Mineta's face for a half second before he swallowed it back. Turning, he feigned surprise to see Mina and Tsuyu behind him.

'Mina! Tsu! Why, what are you two doing?'

'We…want to make sure you don't get in trouble. *ribbit*' said Tsuyu, trying, but not quite succeeding, at sounding casual.

'That's right.' Mina said more sternly, 'So keep your purple head down blob boy and don't be seen!'

Mineta bowed meekly before turning back to the hallway. He was inside their minds now and soon he would reap the benefits of his maleficence.

* * *

As Mineta and his two unwitting pawns stalked closer, Mei and Izuku continued on together out the gates of the UA campus and towards the subway. As they walked, Izuku brought up the topic of quirks and Mei enthusiastically started talking about her super vision. Initially he was fascinated, but he quickly became more and more squeamish as the conversation continued.

'…and that's why I don't look too closely at fast food anymore.' Mei said.

He swallowed back some bile and grimaced.

'Please, Mei. Don't tell me any more stories about food. I _liked_ Mob Donald's.' he moaned.

'Having enhanced vision makes you disillusioned with the world around you real quick, Izuku. For example, see that guy over there?' she said, snaking an arm around his shoulder and pointing to a hot dog vendor. The man was busily spreading condiments on a bun for a customer. He looked like a normal guy. Izuku nodded queasily.

'Didn't wash his hands after going to the bathroom.' she said matter of factly and Izuku gagged, 'And you see that guy over there? Headlice. Thousands upon thousands of wriggling, slimy, bloodsuckers that're-'

'Please no more!' Izuku cried, 'I'm going to barf if you keep this up.'

Mei laughed and jostled into him lightly.

'Its not all bad. Most people are clean. Relatively speaking of course. Besides, I'm just grateful that I can control my super vision. Some people with super senses aren't so lucky.'

'I can imagine.' Izuku said. Somewhere on this block he could hear someone noisily using the restroom. He prayed they washed their hands.

It was at that moment that he noticed her arm was still around his shoulder and her body was right next to his. Usually his spider-sense went haywire if anybody tried to touch him, but she was able to get so close? How? He was momentarily at a loss. He'd never been in this situation before. Before he could say or do anything however, he suddenly felt Mei's breath in his ear.

'Speaking of super senses, we're being followed by some girls from class 1-A.' she whispered.

In truth, he'd noticed them back at UA, but he wasn't sure if he should mention it or not. Glancing over, he saw that her face was shockingly close, her keen, yellow, cross-hair like eyes staring into his expectantly. He gulped. Luckily at the moment, he didn't need to pretend to sound nervous.

'R-Really? W-Why're they after us I wonder.'

'You ever think that maybe I was right? Hm? Maybe Class 1-A is still sore and lookin' to take on the second-place champ?' she said softly before giving him a teasing poke.

He didn't know what to say. He'd thought that they were just walking to the subway same as him, but what if she was right? It seemed so uncharacteristic of the hero students to hold a grudge though. If only she wasn't pressing into him then maybe he could think straight! Mercifully, she extracted herself from him and he could breath again.

Netting her hands casually behind her head, she shot him a sly glance.

'Hey, do you want to mess with them a little?' she said, grinning.

Izuku looked at her in surprise before returning with a devious expression of his own.

'What'd you have in mind?'

* * *

The two girls following the support class heroes were careful to keep their distance. Thankfully Mineta was no longer with them. After Tsuyu had caught the little creep trying to smell her hair, she and Mina had disposed of him in a garbage can before continuing the pursuit by themselves.

Unfortunately, Mina was forced to trail back much further than Tsuyu was. Even though she had turned pink again, people on the streets had still recognized her and a few of them had even called out to her. To Mina's credit though she took it all in stride and continued the pursuit undeterred. It would take more than a little heckling to keep her down.

As Tsuyu drew near, she saw Mei and Izuku scurry off together into an alleyway. Taking a moment to make sure she was unnoticed by the other people on the sidewalk, she quickly hopped over to the alley entrance and peered inside. The pair were continuing to walk together further away from the street.

Tsuyu watched in wide eyed fascination as they stopped in front of a steel door leading into the back of what looked like a warehouse. Mei knocked on the door three times, before slapping it with her palm. The two were still as they waited before eventually the door opened and a sallow faced young man greeted them.

'Welcome back initiate. Tell me, has your mission of discord and woe been successful? Have the seeds been planted?'

'Aye! A thousand times aye, master-brother.' said Mei bowing slightly. She elbowed Izuku and he too bowed, albeit clumsily.

'Then enter. But tread carefully. For _he_ comes…' the man said dramatically. Stepping aside, they entered the darkened room and the door slammed shut behind them.

The sound shocked Tsuyu free from the wall. She had been gripping it so hard her knuckles had turned white.

'What in the world…?' she said numbly.

Tsuyu mind raced as she looked at the ominous steel door at the end of the alleyway. What could be happening in there? Who was "he" and what were the seeds of discord and woe? What could it mean?

'Hey, Tsu…'

Tsuyu whipped around at the voice, her eyes huge and her hands flying into fists, ready for a fight. But it was just Mina. The pink girl quickly stepped back at her wild expression. Tsuyu took a gulping breath as Mina looked at her with concern. A pale sweat had broken out across her body and she needed a moment to gather her thoughts.

'Something is happening in there…' said Tsuyu fearfully. Mina went slack jawed as Tsuyu explained what she had witnessed. This simple outing had become far more sinister than either of them had imagined.

* * *

Once the door had slammed shut behind them, Mei dropped the act and smiled.

'Anyway, Leeroy this is Izuku.' Mei said pointing to Izuku, 'Izuku, Leeroy.' she gestured to the older teen.

'H-Hi.' Izuku said, 'That was quite the wild intro.'

The man looked embarrassed as he turned on the light in the small room.

'Thanks.' he said, his voice cracking slightly, 'I'm still in character.'

'Character?' Izuku asked quizzically.

'Yeah, me and the boys run a little DnD game in the back of the shipping building here after hours. We like the space, you know?' he said, leading them down the hall.

Exiting the cramped hallway, Izuku, Mei, and Leeroy entered an open and drafty warehouse where four teens to young aged men were seated around a large stack of pallets that was covered with a tablecloth. Medieval figurines were positioned in front of the seats amongst a clutter of plastic cups, character sheets, and greasy pizza slices. It was a nerd den, no question about it. Izuku couldn’t judge though. He had a shrine to All Might after all. Upon seeing Mei, the geeks all rose and greeted her warmly.

'Hey, Mei. Long time no see.' said a large man who looked like he was in his early twenties.

'Hi, guys.' Mei said, raising her hand in greeting, 'Izuku, I met these guys at the hobby shop when I was a kid. They have some pretty good gadget ideas. Occasionally.’

Izuku greeted them all with a wave and they nodded to him politely.

'So you're Izuku, huh.' said one of them, 'Mei has told us all about you…'

'N-Nothing bad I hope.' Izuku said, laughing. His laughter slowly ebbed away into awkward silence as they all stared at him coolly.

'Anyway, guys. I have a favour to ask you…' Mei said.

The men set their game aside and listened to her with growing interest as she explained the situation with Class 1-A and what she wanted to do. A few times Izuku felt his spider-sense flash warningly as she laid out her convoluted plan, but in the end, he said nothing. While he didn't want to cause any trouble, he couldn't stop himself from getting excited. He had never played a prank on anyone before and Mei's enthusiasm was infectious. Soon he found himself nodding along as roles were assigned and lines were given. If everything went according to plan, he wouldn't have to worry about being followed by class 1-A anytime soon.

* * *

The next day Izuku and Mei returned to the development studio and did their work as usual. Izuku was able to make great strides in programming his suit's computer system, but he found that he couldn't focus enough to finish it in time. He was just too excited about his and Mei's secret plot. As the day ended, he and Mei, giddy with excitement, eagerly packed their things and prepared to set out. Power Loader must have sensed something was up because he looked at the two suspiciously.

'You two have been awfully conspiratorial.' he said dryly as they broke out into a fresh bout of giggling, 'Should I be worried?'

'N-No sir.' Izuku said as he tried to put on a straight face, 'We've just got a little plan to mess with class 1-A a little is all.'

'Oh?' Power Loader said, 'Do tell.'

They took turns filling in Power Loader of their plan. He was silent as they explained their scheme before finally chuckling a little himself.

'Well, it all seems a little pointless and stupid to me, but…' he shrugged, 'You're only young once. I just hope that class 1-A doesn't misinterpret the situation and lash out.'

'Yeah!' Izuku said cheerfully, before he suddenly grew quiet, 'Gee, you don't think they will, do you?' he asked Mei fearfully. She scoffed.

'Don't get cold feet, Izuku.' she scolded, 'Besides, if they want to be heroes then they have to learn how to accurately read situations. Isn't that right, Mr. Maijima?'

'I suppose.' Power loader said, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

Mei turned to Izuku and smiled innocently.

'See? I told you. Everything is going to turn out just fine.'

* * *

That evening, Izuku and Mei left UA together and casually walked side by side back to the shipping warehouse where Mei's friends were waiting for them. During the trip, Izuku kept his senses alert for any sign of class 1-A, but he detected nothing. It seemed to just be another perfectly normal Sunday evening. Pedestrians came and went, the traffic started getting heavier, and the restaurants began to get crowded. For a moment, he dared hoping that class 1-A hadn't taken the bait, but his hopes were dashed when he and Mei reached the alley leading into the warehouse. Just as they entered the narrow passage between the warehouse and its neighbour, he detected what felt like the entire hero class waiting for them on the rooftop of the other building.

_So much for wishful thinking._ Izuku thought and he felt his heart rate pick up.

* * *

The students of class 1-A sat crouched in tense silence while they waited for Izuku and Mei. When Mina and Tsuyu had told them what they had seen, they had all agreed that something was definitely strange. In answer to their call for reinforcements, nearly the entire class had shown up to help stakeout the mysterious shipping and receiving warehouse. The only one who was absent was Bakugo. They had initially considered asking for his help, but they decided against it given that he and Izuku had a history. Maybe he was even in on it! Whatever _it_ was.

From the streets below, they could hear teens their age laughing and talking, carefree and happy on their Sunday off. Occasionally one of the class 1-A students would glance down enviously from their stakeout, but nobody said anything. Well, except for Mineta anyway.

'Man, this sucks.' grumbled Mineta as he kicked a loose pebble of gravel away from himself. Momo shot him a sharp glance.

'Keep your voice down! And what are you talking about? This was your idea!' she whispered angrily.

Mineta mumbled incoherently in response.

At that moment they heard another bray of laughter from the streets below and several of them sighed. Midterms were coming up and what with their internships starting this week it was unlikely that they would have another free weekend to themselves.

'Heads!' hissed Toru to her fellow class 1-A students, 'They're coming!'

The class 1-A students quickly hunkered down on the gravelled rooftop before carefully crawling over to the edge so they could see.

Mei and Izuku were walking down the alleyway, heading straight for the innocuous steel door. Mei seemed totally at ease, merrily humming a jingle while she jauntily walked along. Izuku on the other hand looked like he had just seen a ghost. His skin was pale and his face was shining with sweat.

'Um, you know Mei, m-maybe we should, uh, do our masterplan some other time?' Izuku said to Mei, rubbing his hands together.

'What?! No!' Mei said, frowning at him, 'It's _fine_. Just…go with the flow.'

‘B-B-But-‘

‘Ugh!’ she grabbed his arm and began hauling him along, ‘You need to loosen up, dude. Seriously.’

He looked like he wanted to argue with her, but she had already dragged him to the rear entrance of the warehouse. With baited breath, class 1-A listened as Mei knocked on the door in her peculiar way. Slowly, it opened.

'Come quickly. The time has nigh and the hour is short. We must be away.' said an unknown voice.

Wordlessly the two entered, disappearing into the shadowy corridor beyond.

* * *

Mina drew a long breath and turned to her cohorts. 'Okay.' she said grimly, 'What's the play?'

'I say we go in there, guns blazing!' Kirishima said loudly causing all of the other classmates to shush him angrily. Cowing down sheepishly, he lowered his voice before continuing, 'If we all attack together, I bet we can overwhelm whatever resistance they have and stop their scheme!'

'We can't go busting in private property!' Momo said, looking horrified, 'We don't know anything! There may be a perfectly logical explanation for all of this!'

Everyone started to murmur and shift about as they all argued their points until finally Tsuyu spoke up.

'I say that I go in there and do some recon while you all hang back. I can climb up those walls to the windows and get some information. Then we'll decide how to act.'

There were nods of agreement and Momo sighed in resignation.

'Okay, but here. Take this.' Momo's hand flashed pink for a second before she handed Tsuyu a penny-sized circular microphone, 'We'll listen in from here. The microphone inside that device should be sensitive enough that you shouldn't have to get too close. Don't do anything too risky!'

Tsuyu nodded before hopping off the roof and landing on the side of the warehouse. Sticking to the brick with her fingers and toes, the class watched as she climbed through an open window and disappeared from view. As soon as she was gone everyone crowded around Momo who held up the microphone receiver. They collectively held their breath as they heard voices begin to speak.

* * *

Izuku cleared his throat noisily and everyone quickly assumed their positions.

'Alright.' he started in a stiff voice, 'Let's do this before we're discovered. Are the packages ready?'

'Yeeesssss.' said a pudgy teen in an imposing voice. The authoritative tone was talent that he had honed over a misspent youth of roleplaying as a necromancer.

With a snap of his fingers, one of the unloaders came in pushing a cart laden with seven black boxes, one for each of them.

'Thanks to the diligent work of our acolytes Mei and Ikuzu-

‘Izuku.’

‘Er, yes Izuku, we have identified seven critical areas across the city. Go my children, deliver our malediction. Once the packages are in place, by the witching hour the self righteous will be humbled, and we will all live forever in infamy!'

'Bitchin'!' said Mei, grinning from ear to ear, 'So, what's the hold up? Give me a box and let's get going already!'

'Well…I mean. I-I had a speech prepared before we set out. Would you like to hear it or-'

The room broke out into groans.

'Timmy always has to make his speeches.' sighed one of the others, 'Can we just get this over with? I'm trying to correct my sleep schedule and just because the packages judgement or whatever will be rendered at midnight doesn't mean we have to be around when it happens, right?'

The others voiced their agreement and Timmy frowned in disappointment, 'Fine, fine. Everyone take your package.' he said despondently.

Izuku joined the others and grabbed his black box. As he handled his delivery, he was careful to keep his back to the person watching them from the rafters above. He couldn't tell if it was Toru or Tsuyu, but there was definitely a girl eavesdropping by the window. Mei had fooled them so far, but would they take the bait? The whole situation was so ridiculous and contrived that he didn't think anybody would be naïve enough to believe a word they were saying.

'All right, does everyone know where they must go?' Timmy asked, eyebrows arched.

'Y-Ye-' Izuku started before Timmy spoke over him.

'Then fly my minions! Bring low those pesky interlopers! Remind them of who they are!'

'Uh, boss. Don't forget your package.' Mei said, pointing to the last box.

'Oh, yeah. My bad.'

At that everyone started shuffling their separate ways to the exits.

'See you, Izuku.' called out Mei as she headed for the other door, 'Good luck!'

'Y-Yeah, fight the power!' Izuku said back as he also exited the room. Walking out through the foyer, he turned out on to the sidewalk and started a brisk pace. As he accelerated to a jog, he heard the delivery mopeds start up and five drivers headed out into five different directions. He and Mei were the only ones who had to make their deliveries on foot.

'I wonder if they'll get anyone?' Izuku muttered to himself as he started to run. If he hurried, he would just make it to the subway in time.

* * *

As Izuku and his cadre of conspirators scattered, class 1-A broke out into a panic.

'What do we do!' squealed Mineta, 'Those packages could be bombs or something!'

'We need to split up and chase them!' shouted Todoroki, 'I'm going after Izuku! The rest of you follow who you will.'

At that Todoroki jumped off the roof. Hitting the ground with a roll, he sprinted out the alley and towards the street side entrance of the warehouse. The others wasted no time either. Quickly divvying up into groups, they all took off after the delivery drivers. They didn't have their provincial hero licenses yet so they couldn't freely use their quirks, but they could still chase after them.

Izuku ducked and weaved as nimbly as a dancer as he navigated his way through the crowded train station at speed. Several people shouted after him in astonishment, but he forced himself on.

_God damnit, Mei!_

Feet pounding, he dodged between a slow walking couple and charged towards the ticket booth. Tossing Mei's package over the ticket barrier, he flipped out his sub pass, scanned it, and leapt across to the other side all in one second. Catching the black box with one hand, he continued on to the train.

_Her and her stupid ideas! Why'd I ever agree to this? Is she trying to ruin my reputation? I wouldn't put it past her…_

Racing behind him, Todoroki valiantly gave chase as subtly as he could, but he couldn't quite manage to navigate past the steady traffic of the station as fast as Izuku had. Delayed by the crowd at the ticket booth, he hesitated in front of it for a moment. Izuku heard him growl in frustration before he vaulted over the ticket barrier without using his pass, much to the disapproval of those around him.

Sprinting down the platform, Izuku rushed into the subway just as the last people began to board. Glancing back, he was surprised to see that Todoroki had made it on the last car. Izuku shook his head incredulously and smiled.

_Not bad considering he's not using his quirk! Looks like he might catch me!_

But Izuku had no intention of playing fair. He really didn't want to be confronted on a crowded subway. It would just be embarrassing for everyone.

And so before the doors could shut completely, Izuku contorted himself and slipped back out on to the platform. Crouching low beneath the windows of the train, he ignored the confused looks of the surrounding commuters as it departed the platform. Once the train had moved past, he straightened himself. His spider-sense was calm. Evidently, he had given Todoroki the slip. Grinning, he walked back towards the exit. It had been too easy. The pursuit had only lasted a few minutes.

'I wonder how Mei is doing?' he mumbled as he dumped his black cardboard box into a recycling bin.

* * *

_Must go faster!_ Mei thought frantically as she charged down the sidewalk. To her horror, the person chasing her was the what's-her-face she had fought during the Sports Festival. She had initially held out hope that her after school training with Izuku would have given her an edge, but it seemed as though the other girl was an athlete too. A far better one truth be told.

Using her heightened vision, Mei looked into the sideview mirror of a passing car to check behind her. The raven-haired girl was still keeping pace, and quite comfortably too. If she was going to get out of this she would need to resort to desperate measures.

Dodging out of the street and into a small clothing boutique, she sprinted up to the saleswoman's counter and slapped her box on the wooden surface. The saleslady who had been absently cleaning her nails, jumped in alarm at the slamming package. Before the saleswoman could say a single word, Mei started shouting:

'Quick, quick, quick, where's the bathroom!? Where's the bathroom!? Where's-'

'Ah!' the lady cried, throwing up her hands, 'Here, over here! Follow me!'

Mei went after the scurrying saleswoman to the backroom. As soon as she was out of the store proper, she spotted the alleyway access. Slipping away behind the distracted saleswoman's back, she quietly pushed the door open. Running back outside, she immediately fled back up the alleyway to the busy sidewalk. Peering at the glass reflection in a storefront window across the street, she watched as Momo cautiously entered the clothing boutique she had just been in. Once Momo was inside, Mei took a deep breath and casually strolled out into the street back the way she had been chased.

Heart pounding like a jackhammer, Mei crossed in front of the store. In a stroke of luck, Momo had her back to the entrance. She was looking around the store counter, calling for the attendant. A second later and Mei lost line of sight with the girl and she once again took off running.

_Brains beat brawn. Again._ Mei thought smugly as she disappeared into the crowds.

* * *

'Damn…I-I think we lost him.' Kirishima panted as he pounded his fist against the side of the building. There was no sign of the moped or its rider. They had been running after the driver for the better part of twenty minutes but they hadn't seen hide nor hair of the man since. He had escaped. Sero shook his head.

'We should have used our quirks.' he said remorsefully, 'I could've kept up with him.'

'We don't have our provisional licenses yet.' Kirishima said between gulping breaths, 'We can't just act impulsively. Let's hope that one of the others was more successful.'

At that Kirishima and Sero felt their phones buzz. It was a text message from Mina! It read:

"Found one of the black boxes. If you guys are able, meet me at Dimple Street by Salt Elementary school."

The two looked at each other.

'Let's go!' Sero said, taking off at a sprint.

Kirishima fired off a quick reply to Mina before joining him.

* * *

Class 1-A sat huddled a fair distance away from the black box while Momo inspected it. All of them had taken cover behind a low brick wall and were watching fearfully as she examined the container.

Mina and Ochaco had discovered the package just as it was being delivered in front of an elementary school of all places. Fearing it might be an explosive of some kind, they had transported it to the neighbouring playground for inspection. The playground was attached to a park and there were no houses nearby. If there was a blast, hopefully it would be small enough to be contained by the park and no civilians would be hurt.

'Please don't be a bomb…please don't be a bomb…' Ochaco muttered as she looked fearfully after Momo.

Momo had bravely volunteered to inspect the package with a multiscanner she created after Kaminari had said he sensed nothing electrical and Jiro said she heard nothing mechanical inside. The box felt empty. But who's to say it wasn't filled with a bioweapon or something?

'I can't believe we lost them all but one.' Iida said scowling, 'If there are six other packages loose in the city…'

Nobody said anything. That same thought was on all of their minds as well. If the package was dangerous, then any damage it caused would be on them.

'Okay. I can't detect anything. I'm opening it…' Momo called over.

Everyone crouched down next to the wall, fingers crossed, and muscles tense.

Momo pulled the lid off the box and they all took a sharp breath. However, nothing happened. Everyone let out a gasp in relief.

'What's inside!' shouted out Ochaco.

Momo was still. Slowly she reached down and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Holding up her phone for light, she inspected the note. The air was still.

'Y-Yeah, we've been had.' Momo shouted out in slightly shrill voice.

'What?' said Iida, incomprehension written across his face, 'What do you mean?'

'I mean it was all a joke. We've been tricked.'

At that everybody scrambled over the wall. Rushing to her side, they tried to see what she was talking about. The box was empty, but in her hand was a small handwritten note.

'Wh-What is this?' Iida asked dumbfounded as he looked between Momo, the empty box, and the note.

'Here read it for yourself.' she said, handing Iida the paper.

Taking it, Iida’s eyes rapidly went over the note, his pupils growing wider and wider until they were practically bulging out of his glasses.

‘Well?’ Ochaco said, ‘C’mon! What’s it say?’

With a shaking voice he started to read aloud.

"Greetings to class 1-A from 1-H! If you are reading this then you fell for our trick! Maybe don't follow us around next time, ya dick! Support rulz…"

Iida took a deep breath.

"…heroes are fools! Love, Hatsume. P.S: Please don't be sore losers and beat me up."

Everyone was silent for a moment as they tried to understand what had just happened. It was Mineta who spoke first.

'Right, well I'll see you guys next week. I've got an internship to prepare for tomorrow. Mina? Tsu? It's a good thing you're pretty, that's all I'll say.'

Mina picked her jaw up and spun around.

'Wha? Wait, hey! It's not our fault! They-they were doing weird things! Seriously!' Mina cried, vainly searching for some support from her friends, but nobody met her gaze. Instead they all started shuffling off their separate ways.

'Bakugo probably would've known something was up. He knows Izuku better than anyone. Why didn't we talk to Bakugo?' Kirishima said to Sero as the pair trudged away. Mina remained rooted where she was, helplessly looking around, sputtering incoherently as everyone left.

'It was an honest mistake! Right guys? Guys?'

Eventually only her and Tsuyu were left.

'Its okay, Mina. *ribbit* I'm the one who heard them talking. *ribbit* This is on me too.'

Mina slumped her shoulders and started walking with Tsuyu tagging alongside her.

'They really got us good, didn't they?' Mina said half-heartedly.

Tsuyu nodded.

'We'll get 'em back sooner or later. Don't worry about that.' she said, patting her friends back.


	31. Transformations

Izuku woke up to the chime of his phone alarm and he quickly got out of bed. Today was the first day of internship and he didn't want to risk the wrath of Endeavor of all people. Reaching for his phone, he noticed a rare text message from Bakugo waiting for him. It read:

"Deku, I heard you tricked my braindead classmates. I just want you to know that whatever you did - I wasn't there and I wasn't involved! You haven't outsmarted me, and you never will!"

He frowned. He had hoped that Bakugo would fall for Mei's little goose chase, but maybe it was for the best. Bakugo knew where he lived, after all.

"Never say never, Kacchan. Besides, if you really wanted to beat me, you would have been able to stop your classmates, so I'm counting this as a win. <3" he texted back.

Grabbing his towel, he went to have his shower. He had a big day today and it was essential he make a good first impression. After cleaning himself up and eating a light breakfast, he boarded the subway downtown.

Izuku was barely able to squeeze into the train before it took off. All the cars were packed to bursting with early morning commuters as everyone headed off to work. Pressed shoulder to shoulder with the business people around him, he tried his best to ignore the uncomfortable conditions and focused instead on what he would say to Endeavour when they met each other.

_Hello Mr. Todoroki sir, it's a pleasure to meet you, I…Huh? What's that? You saw what I did to your son in the Sports Festival? And you heard I humiliated him the other day too? No, it was all just a harmless joke that's all. Wait. Mr. Todoroki! Restrain yourself! Ah! Ah! AHHHHH!_

He couldn't help but chuckle as he imagined being roasted alive by Endeavour. It really had been foolhardy for him to go along with Mei on her prank yesterday. It put innocent people in danger, made him enemies with the hero class, and it drew more attention to himself. All in all, it was a very stupid thing to do. So why'd he do it? Thinking back on it, he couldn't help but remember how she had given him that devious smile when they were walking back from UA. She really did have a few screws loose.

_I'll have to control myself around Mei. She's...a bad influence._

After suffering in the cramped confines of the subway, he arrived at the downtown station and joined the deluge of commuters flooding into the street above. Walking along the choked sidewalk to Endeavours office, his route took him right past the Glass Way Tower. The white gloved doormen had been replaced by an army of bustling construction workers and technicians who were pouring in and out like ants. He had heard that the repairs might end up taking over a year and cost upwards of several hundred billion yen once all the insurance claims were processed.

 _That's a lot of Sports Festival bets._ Izuku thought, whistling lowly as a convoy of construction dump trucks came rumbling out of the Glass Way Tower’s alley.

Turning his attention away from the Glass Way Tower, he looked at the building beside it: The Endeavour Hero Agency. Though it paled in comparison to the sheer size of the Glass Way Tower, it struck an imposing image nonetheless. Straight, hard lines of white painted steel interlaced with black, reflective glass combined in an elegant architectural marriage of intimidation and beauty. Though there were other impressive hero agencies in Musutafu, Endeavours was undoubtably the most visually striking.

Standing before the huge, double doors of the agency, he felt especially small. He didn't know what was expected of him, but considering how he was personally requested by Endeavour, he figured the next week was going to be rough. Once he had worked up the courage, he pulled open one of the two giant doors and entered into an expansive pillar lined foyer. As the door swung shut behind him the sounds of the busy street were immediately silenced. Standing in the sudden quiet, he found himself reminded of a cathedral or temple. However, rather than feeling comforted he found the stillness unnerving. Almost like he was trespassing in a mausoleum.

_Reminds me of Shocker's place if I'm honest._

Shoes softly clicking against the marbled floor, he walked between the looming pillars to the desk of a waiting receptionist. The thin man behind the desk treated him to a small, terse smile before speaking.

'Mr. Izuku Midoriya I trust? You're running a little late. Mr. Endeavour is expecting you.' the receptionist pointed to a golden framed elevator behind him, 'That elevator will take you to Mr. Endeavour's office.'

'Thank you.'

Shuffling away from the receptionist, he approached the golden elevator and tentatively pressed the call button. The doors immediately whooshed open revealing a handsomely carpeted and wood paneled interior. Head bowed, he stepped inside.

_If this elevator were an apartment, I bet it'd cost more than Mom's yearly rent._

There were only two buttons on the elevator panel: Up and Down.

Pressing the "Up" button, he took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves as the elevator began to soundlessly ascend.

_If I can handle a meeting with the League of Villains, I'm sure I can handle a meeting with Endeavour._

Sooner then he liked, the elevator door opened revealing a long stretch of dimly light hallway flanked with closed doors periodically spaced on both sides. Looking down to the very end of the hallway, there was another set of doors which were adorned by identically manicured bonsai trees.

Deciding that such an impressive doorway surely led to Endeavour's office, he stepped lightly down the hallway towards the doors. The hallway ended into a broader reception area where a professionally dressed woman was seated behind a desk typing at a computer. She was wearing a smart black dress suit with a gray jacket that matched her greyish white hair that was flecked with red splotches.

The woman shifted her attention away from her monitor and towards him. To his relief he saw friendly eyes behind her glasses, and a ready smile formed on the young woman's face.

'Hello! You must be Izuku Midoriya!' she stood and offered her hand, 'My name is Fuyumi Todoroki. Congratulations on your silver at the Sports Festival. From what I understand, you set history! The first quirkless medal winner, well done!'

'Thank you.' Izuku said, as he took her hand and shook it, 'But I got lucky with the match ups.'

'Nonsense. You out skilled everyone there. If there were no restrictions, I bet you would have won easily. Say, have you had a chance to meet my younger brother Shoto?'

'Uh, yeah. We've spoken to each other once or twice.'

'He's been wanting to talk with you for a while. He told me you were offered a spot in the hero class, but you turned it down. If you don't mind me asking, why was that?'

The question caught him off guard. He hadn't realized that was public knowledge.

'Well I figure that I can do more good behind the scenes in support than as a proper hero.' Izuku said tentatively, 'As capable as you may think I was in the Sports Festival, I imagine that once everybody has had a chance to train their quirks they'll be far more powerful than I could ever hope to be.'

'Hmm…maybe so. But I wouldn't consider the work you do in support any less important than the "proper heroes" as you call them.'

Izuku was taken aback by her earnest demeanour. Swallowing, all he could do was awkwardly nod and smile. Ignoring his discomfort, Fuyumi seated herself and turned her attention back to her work.

'You should head in.' she said, gesturing to the door, 'My father is waiting for you, and he's not the most patient man at the best of times.'

'Al-Alright. Thanks.'

He turned back to the office doors. Taking a deep breath, he pushed them open.

* * *

Stepping through the doors, Izuku’s carefully controlled expression transformed to one of slack jawed amazement at the sheer size of Endeavour’s office. The ceiling was doubled in height compared to the hallway outside and the bookshelf lined walls seemed especially distant. Rich blood red rugs were thrown over a rosewood floor which apart from a massive desk at the far end of the room and a pair of chairs before it, was entirely bare. Sitting behind the desk was the number two hero himself, Endeavour. Besides his heavily muscled and imposing frame, crackling on the man's face were the constantly burning fires of his mustache, eyebrows, and hair. The glowing flames coupled with the low light from the smoke tinted windows gave him a menacing appearance. The sight made Izuku feel like he had stepped into some infernal lawyer's office. Before he could say anything, Endeavour spoke.

'Mr. Midoriya.' he said in a deep baritone, 'Come. Sit.'

He gestured towards one of the chairs before him. Clamping his mouth shut and keeping his arms at his sides, he stiffly walked across the dance hall sized space to the offered chair. As he drew near, he couldn’t help but glance around. He found himself humbled by the richness of the décor, but like the foyer, it was cold and detached.

 _I wonder if Shocker and Endeavour hired the same interior decorator?_ Izuku wondered as his eyes darted over the decorative paintings.

Seating himself in one of the two chairs in front of him, he tried to appear calm as Endeavour evaluated him. Eventually Endeavour spoke.

'So, you are Izuku Midoriya. I have heard great things about you from Power Loader. From what I understand, you are among the most talented students he has ever trained. However, he also tells me that despite your intellectual prowess, you fancy yourself as a bit of a troublemaker.'

Endeavour looked at him sternly as though expecting a response and Izuku hastily swallowed before speaking up.

'I-I suppose so, sir.'

'Well you will soon learn to adopt a more serious attitude. I can tell that you're naturally talented - physically and mentally. Your accomplishments in the Sports Festival say as much. However, I won't be satisfied by mere talent. I require a disciplined work ethic. I may only have you for a week, but during that time I intend to use you to your full potential. Just getting by on talent won't be enough. If at any time you feel as though you're not up to the challenge, just say so and I will return you to your classroom where you can continue to be a big fish in a small pond.'

Izuku felt a bead of sweat form on his face. Something told him that he wasn't going to enjoy this.

'What do you plan on doing with me?'

'As you are probably aware the Glass Way Tower was attacked by Spider-Man last Wednesday evening.' Endeavour's voice lowered ominously, 'This has reflected very poorly on my reputation as he did so practically in the shadow of my headquarters. Many of my benefactors resided in that tower and naturally they have called upon me to head the investigation and capture of Spider-Man. You will be assisting me in this goal.'

'I see.' Izuku said uncertainly, 'What did you have in mind?'

Endeavour leaned back and ran a finger over his flaming mustache.

'I want you to reconstruct the events that occurred in the Glass Way Tower after the break in. We already know how Spider-Man infiltrated, but there are some details about how he escaped that remain unknown. To assist you in this task you will be working under my own support staff who will be able to answer any further questions you might have. They will be reporting to me regularly concerning your progress.'

Izuku opened his mouth to ask a question, but Endeavour continued.

'In addition, I will also take the opportunity to review your physical training. I want to know the extent of your ability. I have a specialist in my employ who is quite adept at evaluating people. He will come collect you this afternoon. Do you have any questions?' Endeavour asked briskly. Izuku got the sense that asking any questions would be seen as wasting Endeavour's time and he quickly shook his head.

'N-No sir. I don't, no.'

'Very well.' he said rising and Izuku quickly followed suit, 'Then come with me, I'll introduce you to my support staff now.'

* * *

Endeavour led Izuku back out into the hall.

'When Shoto arrives, instruct him to wait for me in my office.' Endeavour said to Fuyumi without looking over. She bowed her head in assent as he and Izuku passed by.

'I-Is Shoto interning here too?' Izuku asked.

'Of course. It's in his best interest to get stronger after all. Do you know my son?' Endeavour asked and Izuku quickly shook his head.

'No, I don't.'

'Hm.'

Proceeding down the hall, Endeavour went past the golden elevator and instead opened a door leading off the main hallway. Izuku followed him as they went by rows of offices. Peering through a few of the open doors, Izuku noticed the men and women within stiffen slightly and stand up from their chairs as Endeavour walked past.

'These are my sidekicks.' Endeavour said emotionlessly, 'You may have to work with them during your internship here.'

'O-Oh…' Izuku said, practically jogging to keep up with Endeavour's long strides.

Eventually the two reached a decidedly less impressive elevator than the one Izuku had ridden up to Endeavour's office. Entering, he saw Endeavour press the last button on the panel. They were heading to the basement.

Izuku stood as quietly as he could during the ride down. Every few seconds the elevator chimed but that was it. After a while he felt the silence become unbearable and he forced himself to say something.

'So…are there other hero agencies investigating the attack?'

'Yes.' replied Endeavour, still staring straight ahead, 'My sources tell me that all of the other top ten hero agencies are devoting personnel to their own investigations into Spider-Man. Beyond the elite agencies, most of the lesser known pro's in the top one hundred are digging for clues as well. The closer you get to the top, the fiercer the competition, and Spider-Man represents quite the prize for the aspiring hero agency. I do not intend to surrender my position so easily however.'

'What do you mean by “surrender your position”? Isn't it an opportunity for you to advance as well?'

Endeavour frowned, 'No. So long as All Might is alive, he will be considered the number one hero. My position as the number two hero though is much less secure. That's the burden of being on top. If you want to be the best of the best you have to be prepared to constantly deliver, always. To the others Spider-Man is a golden opportunity, but for me it's just a threat to the status quo.'

Izuku fell back to being silent. Several of his fellow classmates had received internships with other members of the top ten heroes. He wondered if they were all being similarly instructed to chase down Spider-Man too.

_It's a race. The only question is how do I make it through this internship without giving myself away? I can't not contribute, but I can't exactly help Endeavour find Spider-Man either._

His thoughts were interrupted by the elevator doors sliding open. Exiting, Endeavour led him through a maze of identical looking concrete passages before arriving in a giant central room filled with machinery.

'This is my development studio.' Endeavour said sweeping his arm around the deserted workshop.

It sure looked like one. Scattered pieces of equipment lay strewn about amongst tools, empty coffee cups, and loose stacks of paper. It reminded him of Mei's workbench.

'I have other meetings to attend to so I will leave you here to become acquainted with my support staff. We will talk more later.'

At that Endeavour promptly turned and left, leaving Izuku alone in the workshop. He stood there uncertainly amidst the whirring fabricators and thrumming computers. He knew there was at least one person nearby, he could sense them, but there was nobody to be seen. After waiting in place for a moment, he started getting antsy and he called out.

'Hello? Is there anyone here? I'm the support intern that Endeavour selected from UA.'

There was silence. Just as he was about to call out again, he saw a scaled reptilian face above a white lab coat suddenly appear from one of the open doorways across the room. Its eyes narrowed to slits as it considered him.

'How did you get here?' It asked, tongue flicking the air.

'Uh, I-I was escorted by Endeavour. He said I'm supposed to help with the Glass Way Tower attack?'

Izuku flinched before the harsh yellow glare of the hard scaled reptiloid. He wished Endeavour had stuck around to introduce him.

'Hmmm…I don't know.' rasped the reptile, voice dripping with suspicion, 'It could be ssssome sort of trick…'

Izuku blanched, 'H-Here, I'll go get Endeavour he can-'

'Relax. Ignore Dr. Connors; he's just messing with you.' called out another voice from the room the reptile was in.

Stepping out from around the corner, Izuku saw an auburn-haired woman also in a white lab coat appear beside the reptile man who gave her a reproachful look.

'Hel-' the woman stopped and yawned loudly, 'Ugh, excuse me. Hello, my name is Melati Kusuma. Welcome to our studio. Sorry about the mess. We've practically been living in here since Spider-Man's attack on the tower.'

'Oh, well um, hi. My name is Izuku Midoriya. Pleased to meet you.'

'We know who you are, Midoriya. We watched you compete in the Sports Festival. Congratulations are in order. He sure showed those hero students whose boss, didn't he Dr. Connors?'

'Yesss. Very impressive.' said Dr. Connors as he stepped forward, 'I am an alumni of UA myssself. I was very pleased to see you triumph. One of the first things Endeavour had us do after your match was research the compound you used to defeat his son in the first event.' his tongue flicked out again, 'Yesss. Preparation and forethought. Always nicccee to see.'

'Thanks. It was a collaborative effort though.' Izuku said.

'Well.' Kusuma declared, hopping up on one of the counters, 'Now that you're here, how about we get you caught up to speed on the attack? It all started on Wednesday evening at around seven…'

* * *

Izuku listened with fascination as Dr. Connors and Kusuma described the attack on the Glass Way Tower from their perspective. They knew his point of entry, how he cut the power, his rooftop exfiltration, disabling the cameras, flooding the building, and sneaking into the penthouse suite. When it came to the battle itself, they were oddly vague, omitting any details about Shocker (though it could be need-to-know information). Given their level of understanding, it came as a surprise to him that they hadn't yet determined how he escaped the building. When he asked about this Kusuma said:

'It's complicated. We have scattered yet conflicting reports from within the hallways about where Spider-Man was during his last known encounter with the heroes Ingenium and Mt. Lady. We don't have an accurate idea of what he did prior to encountering the heroes or what he did after. We know he defeated them and that he escaped the building, but we are still unsure of how he accomplished that feat. To that end we would like you to investigate his escape.'

'Really?' Izuku said in surprise, 'How can I do that?'

'You may ussseee any meansss at our disposal. We have the reportsss, the witnesss accountsss, ssssecurity footage. Everything you need to construct a plausssible narrative.' Connors hissed.

'Any claims you make will have to make sense, Midoriya. Ideally you will have some substantive evidence to back up your explanation, but if you can't do that, you may rely on your reasoning ability.' Kusuma added and Izuku nodded.

'Right.' Izuku said, 'I'll get started right away. Can I read those witness accounts?'

'Of course, they're right over here…'

She led him to a desk with a thin pile of papers. He flipped through the stack. It seemed as though witness accounts were pretty meagre, but he had a feeling that he would do okay.

'One more thing. Can I borrow your guy's phone? I'm probably going to have to contact Mt. Lady and Ingenium to try and get to the bottom of this.' Izuku said.

Connors and Kusuma looked at each other.

'You can certainly try.' Kusuma said slowly before stifling another yawn, 'But I think you'll find that the other heroes will be trying their best to solve the case themselves and they might not want to share information with you.'

'R-Really?' Izuku said in surprise, 'Endeavour told me things were competitive, but I didn't think that extended to withholding evidence!'

Kusuma chuckled softly, 'Hm. Yes. It is weird, isn't it? I was surprised too when I first learned about how territorial and vicious hero agencies can be. But, that's just the way it is. Short of a subpoena, there's no way to force agencies to relinquish information to each other.'

Izuku let out his breath in a long and low hiss.

 _Jeez, talk about misplaced priorities! Somehow, I'm sure I'll manage to ask the right people the right questions though._ He thought with a small, sly smile.

Bending down, he started to flip through the papers. He knew just where to start.

* * *

Izuku spent the morning moving through the reports and arranging them into a suitable timeline of events. Starting with Ingenium - who witnessed him escape through the elevator - he ended his compilation with Ingenium's defeat at his hands before he entered the vents. Once he was satisfied, he picked up Endeavour's office phone and examined the witness report phone numbers.

_Alright. Let's get some corroborating evidence!_

He dialed Ingenium's number.

* * *

'Its been a while since I was last in Hosu City.' Iida remarked cheerfully as he and his brother walked side by side down the sidewalk, 'How're things around here?'

Ingenium shrugged, 'Since All Might announced his semi-retirement its been picking up, same as everywhere really, but it's quieter than Musutafu.'

'I see.' Iida said, nodding. 'How have you-'

Before he could continue, Iida was interrupted by Ingenium's phone. Glancing down at his device, Ingenium came to an abrupt halt. It must have been an important call because he quickly answered.

'Hello, Ingenium speaking.'

While his brother spoke, Iida moved to the far side of the sidewalk so that people could walk past them freely.

'Oh? I see. Very well, how may I help you?'

Iida was silent as the conversation continued. Turning his attention to the street around him, he felt a rising sense of pride to see some people taking photos of his brother. He might not be a top ten hero, but the Ingenium name was well regarded by the people of Hosu City.

 _I hope I can be as great a hero as my brother one day._ Iida thought, smiling under his helmet.

After a few minutes his brother hung up and turned to him.

'Well, you'll never guess who called! It was an intern working for Endeavour! It seems as though they're busy investigating the attack on the Glass Way Tower.'

'Ha! I bet it was Shoto Todoroki.' Iida said, 'He's quite talented. I'm sure he and Endeavour will get to the bottom of things soon enough!'

'No, it wasn't Shoto. Actually, it was the kid who came in second during the Sports Festival, Izuku Midoriya.' Ingenium said, resuming his walk, 'Have you had a chance to meet him?'

Iida scowled, 'Midoriya! I've had a few run ins with him.' he said darkly.

He didn’t elaborate. The last thing he wanted was for his brother to hear about his humiliation yesterday. He would never hear the end of it.

'That's good. You should try to get on friendly terms with the support class as soon as possible. Having contacts with capable support heroes can be invaluable. You don't even want to know how much it cost me to repair my suit.'

Iida was silent for a moment before nodding.

'I'll keep that in mind.' he muttered.

Iida quickly changed the subject and the pair continued their patrol.

* * *

Izuku grinned with satisfaction as he rearranged his timeline. Now he had a plausible reason to call Mt. Lady.

_All I need her to do is mention either Kumui Woods or the basement and then I have an excuse to contact that engineer who opened the sewer grate. Top marks, here I come!_

Looking over the list of contacts, he soon found her number and dialed. The phone on the other end started to ring…

* * *

Mineta sat on his knees of the washroom, his head under the sink, staring at the U-pipe in confusion. He had never cleaned one of these before. Hell, he had never done any kind of plumbing before. Hefting a wrench, he carefully started to unfasten the pipe. Just as it began to come loose, he heard the phone ring in the other room.

'Ppphooooone!' called out Mt. Lady.

Mineta flinched and he fumbled with the pipe. Coming loose, it spilled and dirty water sloshed all over the floor. Swearing, he struggled with the clogged pipe while the phone kept ringing.

'Hey! Intern! Helllooo! Snap to!' Mt. Lady shouted angrily.

'P-Pardon ma'am I-I-I am just getting this cleaned up…' Mineta shouted back as he desperately dumped the dirty pipe into the freshly cleaned toilet. Rushing over to the other room, he sprang over to the phone beside where Mt. Lady was lounging with her magazine.

'Hello, Mt. Lady's hero office; intern Mineta speaking.' he said breathlessly.

'If it's _Hero Cooking_ tell them I'm not here!' Mt. Lady whispered.

'Endeavour?' Mineta said confused, 'You're not-'

'Endeavour!' squealed Mt. Lady, jumping out of the couch, 'Give it to me!'

She snatched the phone from him and cleared her throat.

'Hello, this is Mt. Lady, how may I be of service?' she asked in a sultry, breathy voice.

Mineta watched as her hopeful expression wavered before collapsing into one of annoyance.

'Support? Yeah, what? You have my report, it's all there…So…? Yeah, so? Oh, really! Yeah, fine…How'd you get that name?' Mt. Lady asked sharply.

Mineta could only stand there. He thought he had recognized the voice on the other end, but he had only heard it for a second before losing the phone. As he was wracking his brain for who it could be, Mt. Lady continued her conversation.

'Okay. Yes, it's true. Me and Kumui Woods were in communication that evening.' suddenly her eyes widened, 'But I'm not confirming any rumours regarding our relationship!'

'…'

'Ugh, Look.' Mt. Lady, rolled her eyes, and let out a sharp breath of annoyance, 'I told him that I was in pursuit okay? And that he might be heading to the basement.'

Mt. Lady was silent for a moment as the person on the other end of the phone kept talking.

'Alright, listen very carefully.' Mt. Lady said in a cold voice that caused the hairs on the back of Mineta's neck to stand up, 'He used his foot to open the door, I saw there were civilians, so I fell back. That's all. Understood?'

There was a pause.

'I guess that's possible. I mean, yeah. Yeah! Of course. I knew that.'

There was another pause.

'Yes. Okay. Make sure you tell Endeavour he owes me!'

Ending the call, Mt. Lady tossed the phone aside. With an exaggerated stretch and an exhausted sigh, she collapsed back into the sofa. Apparently satisfied with herself, she plucked her magazine back up from the table and resumed flipping through it.

After a moment she glanced over at Mineta.

'Bathrooms don't clean themselves…' she muttered.

'R-Right! Sorry, ma'am.'

Without a backward glance he scurried back to the washroom, his head buzzing.

_She said "support" and that voice sounded like Izuku Midoriya! If he's interning for Endeavour, then he's probably investigating the Glass Way Tower attack. I'll have to ask Shoto for details later._

Entering the washroom, he scowled as he looked around the new mess he had made. Sighing, he went beneath the sink and reached into the clogged pipe. After a moments struggle he at last found the obstruction and pulled out a filthy, wet and matted locke of blonde hair. He considered it for a moment before throwing it in the trash. He was creepy, but he wasn't _THAT_ creepy.

* * *

Izuku leaned back and grinned to himself. All he needed to do now was speak with the engineer that he had seen by Kamui Woods and he would have everything he needed to finish up the investigation. Browsing through the contacts that Kusuma had given him, he spotted the maintenance engineer's number.

_I'll have this all wrapped up before lunch!_

An hour later Izuku approached Dr. Connors and Kusuma saying he had finished his timeline. They looked skeptical, but quickly became serious as he launched into his explanation.

'…and so after I spoke with the lead engineer who was on call for that evening, I was able to learn that Kamui Woods had assigned himself to guard the emergency drainage system once he learned from Mt. Lady that Spider-Man might attempt to escape into the municipal sewer grid! It makes sense that Spider-Man would attempt to escape this way, after all he could have entered into the penthouse by other means than climbing through the swimming pool filter. He must have had an ulterior motive to sabotaging the water and power. By instigating the blackout and flooding the building, he ensured there would be enough chaos to cover his escape as well as provide him with a convenient exit strategy. A suitably intricate plan for the dastardly Spider-Man I reckon!' Izuku declared with flourish.

Connors and Kusuma looked at each other.

'Okay.' Connors said slowly, 'But why not attack Kamui Woodssss?'

'Because I believe that Spider-Man was injured!' Izuku declared confidently, 'He never once used his hands! Ingenium describes him as kicking down the elevator as well as defeating him with a kick, but stranger still was what Mt. Lady told me. She said he opened an apartment door to get access to hostages with his foot. Why not use his hands? They must have been injured.'

Izuku felt his confidence falter as both Connors and Kusuma stared at him.

'I mean…it makes sense to me anyway.' he finished lamely.

Connors and Kusuma were silent for a moment before jumping out of their chairs.

'Bravo, Midoriya!' Connors said happily, 'That wasssss exccccellently argued!'

'I'm blown away!' Kusuma said, beaming, 'That is exactly what we figured!'

'O-Oh. You already knew?' he said in surprise.

'Yes, we knew. But it took us a whole day to piece everything together! You got it done in half a day!' Kusuma said, 'Well! What are we going to do now, Connors? He's better than we expected!'

Connors nodded his head ponderously, 'Yessss, very impressive. We had come up with thisss exercise to test you over the course of the week, but now it seems as though we will need to rethink thingssss. Endeavour will be pleasssed.'

Izuku couldn't help but grin at their compliments. Even though he'd cheated, he still felt as though the praise wasn't _entirely_ undeserved. After all, he was sure that if he hadn't known anything about the case, he would have been able to piece it all together. Eventually.

'Well! Now that we have got that all finished, I say we celebrate! Midoriya, how would you like a formal tour of the facilities? Power Loader has an impressive studio to be sure, but I guarantee he doesn't have half the stuff we do!' Kusuma exclaimed proudly, slapping a giant fabricator unit fondly.

'Sure!' Izuku said excitedly, 'A tour sounds great!'

* * *

After having the opportunity to examine each piece of equipment in Connor's and Kusuma's workshop, Izuku determined that he was officially jealous of their set up. Though he couldn't imagine anything that they could build that he couldn't also construct in Power Loader's studio per se, they could do so far faster than he could.

After a few hours of drooling in envy, he heard his name being called.

'Hey, intern.'

He turned away from the computer screen. There was a tall, lean man in a bright yellow and orange tracksuit calling to him. He didn't recognize him, but could tell that the man was a fighter. His hair was cut short, and his face hard and lined. He wasn't overly bulky with useless heavy glamour muscles that most heroes seemed to have either. Instead he was wiry, light and fast. Izuku didn't need his thrumming spider-sense to know that this guy was trouble. He remembered Endeavour's words from that morning.

_This must be the guy who will test me physically._

Izuku immediately hopped off his chair.

'Yes?'

'Before you're let off for the day, Endeavour asked me to see what you're made of. Come on, were going to the gym. Did you bring a costume?' the man growled.

Izuku gulped. 'N-No sir. My costume is being redesigned.'

'Hmpf.' said the man, shrugging, 'No matter. If that's what you have, then that's what you'll wear. Come on. Let's go.'

The man gestured to the door and Izuku quickly moved to join him. Turning to Connors and Kusuma, he said goodbye before walking with the man back to the elevators.

'So, what sort of training did you have planned? Endeavour wasn't too specific.' Izuku asked as they rode the elevator back up.

'Me and you are going to fight.' he said plainly.

'Oh..'

_We're just going to fight each other? Is this going to be like a martial arts evaluation or something? I hope I'm not going to be graded on form or anything._

Before long the elevator stopped and he followed the man down another corridor before arriving in a spacious indoor gymnasium. Large printed banners conveying some long dead warrior's wisdom were framed along the walls and red gym mats covered the waxed hardwood floor. Treadmills, bench presses, leg presses and lifting weights were arranged in stations interspersed with several pieces of martial arts training equipment. A few men and women were scattered around, striking at dummies with their hands and feet as they worked through a series of poses. Izuku frowned.

_Muscle memory doesn't lie. If I'm asked about my martial arts experience, I'll have to tell the truth or these guys will catch on straight away._

The man led him to the centre of the room where he stopped and turned to face him.

'Alright, come at me however you want. Try and knock me down.'

'Uh…okay.' Izuku said. This was all quite sudden.

The man kept his posture relaxed, hands at his sides as he cautiously approached him. He stopped just outside arm’s reach of the man.

_This might be easier if I let him attack me, and counter._

Izuku looked at him expectantly, but the man did nothing. Instead he merely looked back, his eyes alert and focused on Izuku's hands and feet. After a few tense seconds Izuku realized that the other man wasn't going to attack first. Certainly not unprovoked anyway.

'So…' Izuku said as he looked around the gym, 'Quite the place you have here…'

The man was still.

'Nice stuff…*ahem* interesting decor.'

'…'

Izuku looked over at the wall. A large banner simply read "Strength". Facing the poster, he cracked his best sneering grin. As Bakugo had told him many times he had a very punchable face and to his satisfaction the man's impassive expression clouded slightly.

'What's so funny?' he growled over at Izuku, eyes narrowing.

'Oh, nothing.' Izuku replied innocently, turning back to the man so he could fully appreciate his shit-eating grin, 'Just that banner, "strength".' he said, chewing on the word.

'It's a martial maxim. A motivator and a reminder of-'

'A reminder?' Izuku interrupted, raising his eyebrows, 'Of what, how to spell the word? I mean, I realize you mouth breathers aren't exactly rocket scientists, but-'

The man immediately lunged out with a fast jab to Izuku's nose. Izuku let the punch pass by his face as he returned with a punch of his own, but to his surprise the man was able to dodge his strike as well. The man pushed out with his leg in a fast low kick and Izuku was momentarily at a loss. His usual counter would be to jump and attack but that might be too suspicious, instead he retreated to just out of range of the attack and the man's foot came stomping down on the mat.

Izuku speared out with a punch, however the man raised his arms and blocked the blow, Izuku's fist impacting hard against his forearm. Once again Izuku was forced backward.

_Damn! At my “normal” speed and strength, I can't get a hit in! He's a lot better at fighting than I am that's for sure. If I didn't have my spider reflexes, I bet this guy could beat me easily!_

Izuku regarded the man warily as he considered his next attack. Before he could move however the man spoke.

'Taunting and brawling.' he said, nodding his head slightly, 'About what I would expect from someone with no formal training. You've got a trained body, and fast reflexes but that's about it. In order…'

Izuku kept his mouth shut.

_Next time he talks…_

'….to beat me…'

… _I'll attack!_

Izuku sprang out while the man spoke. However, the man was unsurprised by his sudden explosive attack. Raising his arms again he blocked the series of jabs that Izuku sent towards his head and chest. Sweeping out with his leg, Izuku attempted to knock his opponent off balance, but the track suited man deftly stepped back out of the way. Izuku gave chase intending to strike at him again in the stomach but the man anticipated his attack and reached down grabbing his hand!

Twisting around his hips, he threw Izuku over his shoulder sending him flying down towards the mat. Izuku rolled as he hit the hard surface and sprang up to his feet but the man was already pressing forward with a series of punches. Ducking and weaving, Izuku narrowly managed to dodge the attacks as he fell back. Redirecting a punch with his forearm, Izuku intended to go on the offensive, but the man had quickly shifted his feet and was once again ready for him. Izuku paused.

_This is embarrassing. He's probably not even using his quirk and he's making me look like a flailing idiot._

Izuku unclenched his teeth and stepped back. The man looked at him from past his raised hands.

'As I was saying.' the man said in a low, measured voice, 'In order to beat me, I'm sure you would prefer to use one of your gadgets, but what if you didn't have any? Or my quirk rendered it ineffective? That is why martial skill is so important for heroes. For you in particular, martial skill is essential. Without a quirk, you'll need every tool you can to keep pace with your peers.'

The man paused and slowly lowered his hands back to their relaxed position.

'You can keep trying to knock me down if you'd like, but I think you've realized how pointless that would be. As I see it, I only have four days to try and give you a martial foundation that you can carry with you back to UA. Interested?'

Izuku nodded eagerly.

'Of course!' Izuku said, 'Uh, by the way. What was you name again?'

'Call me Taskmaster.'

* * *

With steady hands Dr. Akatani carefully inserted the large needle into the stopper. The small glass vial was filled with an oddly shimmering green mixture. It was his latest creation. By combining his prized quirk formula - the very same serum he had used to create the spider that had given Spider-Man his powers - with secretions he had isolated from the Nomu's brain, he had developed an entirely new quirk development agent! In theory, it would work on anybody it was injected into, including people who had already manifested quirks.

Once the syringe was filled, Dr. Akatani turned to his subject. Beneath a canopy of bright lights, Stain lay on the operating slab, conscious but heavily restrained. It had taken some doing to get him on the table. Under normal circumstances he would have been sedated in his cell prior to transportation, but Dr. Akatani insisted that his body be kept free of any foreign agents for the experiment. He wanted as few variables as possible for when the reaction took place.

'You may feel some slight discomfort.' Dr. Akatani murmured as he pushed the needle into the IV drip that was connected to Stain's arm. The man said something, but it was muffled by the muzzle he was wearing. Dr. Akatani watched dispassionately as the green liquid slowly travelled down the tube and entered Stain’s veins.

Over by a series of blinking panels, Dr. Akatani's assistants were carefully monitoring their sensors and instruments. One of his assistants by the table of surgical tools looked to him.

'Doctor, we have the feeding tube ready. Shall we begin?'

'Not yet. Let's wait until we have some sign of adoption. Then we can-'

Suddenly several of the monitors started to flash red and an alarm began to chime. Stain began violently convulsing on the table, his body vibrating as it struggled vainly against the tight restraints. Several of the aids in the room gasped, but Dr. Akatani wasn’t disturbed. He had seen far worse.

'On second thought you may activate the feeding tube.' Dr. Akatani ordered calmly.

The assistant stammered an acknowledgment before activating the pump. Dr. Akatani turned to the sensors.

_The spider subjects required an enormous number of calories to completely undergo the transformation. I can only imagine how many calories a fully-grown human will require._

Glancing down from the monitors, he looked back at Stain. His spasms had grown more intense and his eyeballs were now rolling aimlessly in their sockets. His fingers were digging into his now bloody palms as he desperately tried to free himself. Dr. Akatani nodded.

'It's still early, but…things are going well.' he muttered.


	32. Abomination

Izuku spent the next few days split between training with Taskmaster and learning about professional design studio work with Dr. Connors and Kusuma. To his delight, he quickly discovered that there was so much he still had to learn. There was no doubt that he was a rank amateur in comparison to his mentors, however he was committed to absorbing as much as he could in the short time he had with them.

While Taskmaster imparted upon him the basics of unarmed combat, Dr. Connors helped him refine his knowledge of algorithms and computers, greatly accelerating the programming of his goblin armour. As the days slipped by, he found that his knowledge of both fields was steadily improving, though he had a long way to go in becoming as skilled a fighter as he was a scientist.

Taskmaster puzzled him. From what he could surmise, Taskmaster was an expert at reading body language and could anticipate any attack. No matter what he tried, Taskmaster was able to counter him perfectly. From the few times he had seen him spar against a few of Endeavour's other sidekicks, he knew that the trainer was holding back with him as well. He found himself wondering: If they were to fight for real with him using his full strength, would he stand a chance? The more they trained the more he suspected the answer was no.

He wanted to know about Taskmaster, but his curiosity was tempered though by the trainer’s cold demeanour. Punch like this, move like that, don’t do this, don’t do that – it was like being taught by a robot. Still, he couldn’t fault the man for lack of skill.

Before he knew it, Thursday arrived. His internship was nearly at its end. After he and Taskmaster finished their sparring exercises for the day, he resolved to ask the man some questions.

'You're really good at this.' he panted, picking himself up off the mat, 'If you don't mind me asking, why haven't I heard of you?'

Taskmaster, who had bent down to straighten the mat didn’t turn around, 'I'm a trainer. Not a hero.'

'You have a hero's codename.' Izuku pointed out as he dabbed himself down with a towel.

'I have a codename.' conceded Taskmaster, 'But like I said, I'm no hero.'

‘So…your what?’

Taskmaster finished straightening the mats and stood. Turning, he faced Izuku, his mask-like face showing no emotion.

‘I’m someone who gets paid.’

At that Izuku decided it would be wise to abandon his questioning. He had his own secrets after all and he would not begrudge Taskmaster his. Also, he didn’t want to lose any teeth. As he grabbed his things and prepared to leave, a young woman he recognized as one of Endeavour's sidekicks approached him.

'Hey, intern!'

'Yes?' Izuku asked apprehensively.

'Before you leave, Endeavour wants to see you in his office. Don't keep him waiting.' she said bluntly, curling her lip in disdain, ‘Nice moves by the way.’

'Uh, th-thank you.' Izuku said in confusion, but she didn't acknowledge him. Instead she just continued on to the exercise machines.

_What's her problem?_

Going to the elevators, he rode up to the top floor and after getting turned around a few times in the halls he arrived at Endeavour's office feeling distinctly uneasy. Approaching Fuyumi's desk, he gave her a tentative smile.

'Hi. Um, I was told that Endeavour wanted to speak with me?' he said.

'Hello, Midoriya.' Fuyumi returned, 'Yes, Endeavour wants to speak with you. However, he's busy with someone right now. You can wait here if you'd like.' she said, gesturing to a nearby couch against the wall.

He thanked her and took a seat. Resting his head against the wall, he picked up the faint sound of voices from within Endeavour's office. He tried to eavesdrop, but he couldn't make out any words.

_Endeavour must have soundproofed his office. He doesn't miss a beat, does he?_

All he could do was wait patiently. Eventually, he sensed someone approaching the door and he quickly straightened up and uncrossed his legs. The doors violently swung open and Shoto Todoroki stormed out of the office.

'Shoto…' Fuyumi started in alarm, but he ignored her.

Without a sideways glance at either of them, he stormed off down the hall. Izuku kept perfectly still. He was suddenly fascinated by the nearby bonsai trees and couldn’t look away. Once he was sure Todoroki was far enough away, he risked a glance around the room.

Fuyumi had stood up from her workstation and was staring after her brother while Endeavor had appeared at his office door; glaring down the hallway at his son’s back.

‘Leave him, Fuyumi.’ Endeavor growled, before turning to Izuku with an unreadable expression on his face, 'Ah, good, you're here. Come in.'

If anything about what had just happened seemed unusual, Endeavour didn't show it. However, Izuku couldn't help but notice Fuyumi had a sad frown on her face.

_This seems personal. There is no way in hell I'm involving myself in a family dispute!_

Averting his gaze, he went over to the door where Endeavor motioned for him to enter. Timidly sidling past, he began walking to the chairs in front of Endeavour’s desk. Behind him, he heard Endeavour swing the doors shut with a loud clang. He flinched at the sound.

_Endeavour seems mad. Great…_

Promptly taking his seat, he braced himself for the worst. He could hear Endeavour’s heavy footfalls coming closer, but he resisted the urge to fidget.

'Your internship is almost at an end.' Endeavour said from behind him, 'I was just reviewing the reports that my subordinates have compiled on your performance thus far and I must say you have certainly left an impression on them. Dr. Connors can't seem to think highly enough of you and Taskmaster says you are acceptable, which coming from him is quite the compliment. Well done.'

Izuku felt himself relax slightly.

'Thank you.'

Endeavour came into view. Walking around his desk, Endeavour sat down across from him, 'I'm happy to see you making use of your time here to improve yourself. People like Connors and Taskmaster are leading experts in their field, and their time doesn't come cheap. Several members of my staff could learn something from you when it comes to taking every available opportunity. These are critical moments in your development as a hero so it is imperative you continue to work as hard as you can; for your own future.’

Endeavour stroked his flaming mustache before continuing.

'A few of my employees have expressed dissatisfaction in my treatment of you. They think that I am throwing good after bad so to speak.'

'O-Oh?'

'However, I would like you to know that I recognize your talents. Your drive. If you continue on the path you’ve chosen, you will become an exceptional support hero. Next year there may be more internship positions available at my agency. I hope that you will remember the growth you experienced here when you consider your options for the future.'

Endeavour nodded at him dismissively and Izuku took his cue. Standing, he started backing up to the exit.

'Y-Yes. Will do.' Izuku said, 'I'll uh, definitely keep that in mind.'

'…'

'I'll just…go.'

Endeavour nodded, and began shuffling through the papers on his desk. Turning, he increased his pace as he went for the exit. Before he could take more than a few steps however, Endeavor called out to him.

‘Oh, and Midoriya?’

He froze and turned. Endeavour was staring at him, his face like a stone mask.

He gulped, ‘Y-Yes?’

‘Tomorrow I have a special exercise planned. I’d suggest making sure you are well rested.’

‘Okay.’ Izuku said, his voice cracking.

Endeavour waved him away, and he turned. Walking to the door, he opened it just enough for himself to slip out. Shutting the doors softly behind him, he let out a sigh of relief. Fuyumi let out an amused giggle and he turned to her sheepishly.

'So, how'd it go?' she asked leadingly.

'Probably about as well as it could have to be honest. Now I just hope I don't screw up massively tomorrow.' Izuku said with a grimace.

Fuyumi smiled reassuringly, 'If you keep doing as you are, I'm sure you'll do fine.'

‘Thanks. Erm, I don’t suppose you know what your father has planned for me tomorrow do you?’

Feigning shock, Fuyumi gasped and put a hand to her chest, ‘Why, Midoriya! You should know better than to ask for tips! What’s the point of a surprise test if it’s not a surprise? Besides I wouldn’t worry. You must know all about fire extinguishers after the Sports Festival.’

His eyes widened, ‘Fire?!’ 

Her face broke at the sight of his fearful expression and she began laughing. While she cackled, he couldn’t help but feel like there was something very off about the Todoroki family.

* * *

Izuku bid Fuyumi goodnight and started off for home. Besides worrying about the test that was sure to kick his ass tomorrow, he wasn't sure how to feel about Endeavour's proposal. He liked working with Dr. Connors and Kusuma, but the general atmosphere of the place rubbed him the wrong way. That night at dinner he voiced his concerns to his mother and she took a surprisingly pragmatic view of things.

"Izu, work experience is work experience.' she said exasperatedly, 'Think about your resume.'

'I guess so…'

'Whatever you do, leave a lasting _positive_ impression. Endeavour would make for a great reference, I'm sure.'

He couldn’t argue and the two finished their meal. After brushing his teeth and washing his face, he went to his room. Stretching out, he hopped in his bed. As he was getting settled, he thought back to what Endeavour had said.

" _Several of my staff members think I am throwing good after bad…"_

He sighed.

_"Good after bad"? Some things never change._

Grabbing his bedside earplugs and face mask, he prepared to go to sleep. Before he could slip on the mask however, an odd sensation washed over him. It was as though he had suddenly been flung into icy water. All the hairs on the back of his neck stiffened and goose bumps erupted over his skin as a rippling of nerves emanated from his spine.

The feeling built in intensity and he found that he couldn’t move. He was totally paralyzed in his bed, unable to even breath. Still leaning towards his nightstand, he lay in place. This wasn’t like the sensation he felt at the USJ. This was much, much worse.

What he was feeling was dread.

Like a key turning a lock he suddenly found the will to move. In a blur he leapt out of his bed and to his window. The street below was quiet. A few people were on the sidewalk calmly speaking to each other, cars were cruising along the road, the lights in the houses and apartments were on; everything seemed normal.

_Mom!_

In the blink of an eye he burst from his room. Charging across the hallway, he flung open the door to his mother's bedroom. She was laying in her bed, book in hand. At the sight of him she recoiled and gasped.

'Izu!' she exclaimed, 'What is it?'

He ignored her. Quickly scanning the room, he searched for some sign of a disturbance, but everything seemed ordinary. There was no sign of any intruders. So why did he have this rotten feeling?

_Is there a bomb? A missile? A tsunami? What? What could it be?_

'Izuku, what's happening?' she said, a tremble of fear in her voice.

Without saying a word, he ran out of her bedroom and did a quick search of the apartment. Flipping on the hero alert channel as he went, he listened to see if there were any active threats while he inspected the kitchen and living room. However, Musutafu was calm tonight and nothing was amiss either.

_What am I missing?! Have I been discovered?!_

Pacing in indecision, he noticed his mother watching him from the head of the hallway. Her face was drawn and her eyes were wide with worry.

'Izu?'

He stopped. Whatever was going on he needed to get her out.

'Hey Mom, let's…go for a nightcap or something.' he said slowly, trying his best to keep the quiver out of his voice.

'But-but Izu, I'm in my pajamas. I'm in bed, I-'

'Get dressed.' he said in a firm voice, 'We can go to the café on the corner.'

She looked at him with a shocked expression, but she didn't press the issue. Instead she merely nodded and stiffly shuffled over to her room. While she was changing, he wasted no time and went to his own room. Pulling on a hoodie, he tucked his Spider-Man mask in his pocket and strapped on his web-shooters before concealing them beneath his sleeves. Something big was happening. Something terrible.

* * *

Dr. Akatani stood in awed silence before the containment tank. Defying all odds, Stain had survived the transformation process and now appeared to be resting. The subject had mutated spectacularly. Four additional arms had grown from his shoulders and back; their powerful, clawed digits flexing as rippling sinews and muscle slowly tensed and relaxed from the creatures breathing.

Stain's skin, once a light tan had drastically mutated as well, becoming evenly patterned with blue and red, exactly as the enhanced spider and Spider-Man's costume was. But most incredible of all was the creature's face. Gone were the scarred but recognizable features of humanity. Instead the mutant had six, giant, milky white eyes, divided into three pairs alongside its now smooth, masklike face. Where there once was a stump of a nose, there was now a simple pit. Like a skull.

Beneath the nose was a lipless maw; a solid row of daggerlike teeth that lay in serrated columns, opened slightly where a long tongue lolled above, tasting the air.

Dr. Akatani felt himself shudder as he watched the tentacle-like tongue twitch and curl his way. Was the creature hungry? The insect lab specimens had all been ferocious eaters themselves.

To say that Stain had merely grown would be a gross understatement. Beyond the addition of limbs and sensory organs, he was now over a hundred kilograms heavier. His rippling torso had elongated and drawn in to his hips adding at least three feet to his total height and his leg muscles were of monstrous proportion, easily as thick as Dr. Akatani's waist.

Though visually similar to Spider-Man in terms of colouration, the mutant before him was no longer even vaguely human. It could not hide in a crowd or be inconspicuous amongst the population as Spider-Man no doubt was. It might not even have a functioning brain or be capable of speech. At best, it was a poor imitation of a man; a nightmarish Doppelganger of what Spider-Man might have become.

_This transformation was fueled by the caloric intake of the specimen!_ Dr. Akatani thought in amazement. _If Spider-Man had been fed as much as Stain had been when he was first bitten, would he have undergone a similar mutation?_

As he watched his creation slumber, he couldn't help but feel his own exhaustion. The last four days had been unbelievable. Undoubtably it was the most incredible intellectual journey of his life, but now was the time for rest. It was getting late and he would be forced to leave soon anyway.

Turning away from the tank, he grabbed his suitcase and prepared to leave. He wished he could have asked one of his assistants to stay and monitor the specimen overnight, but the draconian rules of Tartarus were written in stone. As he neared the exit he thought he saw the Doppelganger stir slightly, but it was probably just a trick of the light. With a yawn, he exited the laboratory and sealed the door shut behind him.

* * *

With the curiosity of a newborn, Doppelganger explored its environment with the gentlest of care. The tiny fibrous hairs that covered its body bristled and flattened as they reacted to the unbelievably subtle humming of electricity around it. Raising its tongue, it tasted the air. Mere feet away it could sense savory warm blood and flesh, but right now it was too drunk off of the mere sensation of the world around it to feed.

He could feel bumbling, two legged creatures walking the hallway beneath it. Hear the guttural throat choking sounds of a cluster of the same creatures in a far away room. He could sense the dangerously hot stream of particles flowing through the metal wiring around it. Creaking machinery, pacing feet, pounding hands, sweating, crying, shouting, he could sense it all.

The stench of suffering was heavy in the room it was in and the scent was its own. Was it the throes of birth? After a moment's consideration it decided that it didn't matter. Cautiously it flexed its muscles, considered their strength, then released. Dimly it was aware of the shifting mass of meat away from itself as the tiny fluttering heart beats pulsed further and further from its box, but it chose to ignore the flesh-thing. There were too many distractions to feed now. 

After an hour of lying there it decided to leave the small, cold box it was in. It wanted to explore. Curving itself upright, it pushed a claw against the transparent, oddly smooth surface surrounding it. To its surprise, its razor-sharp finger nail merely slid away.

After poking and prodding at the glass for a few moments, it dropped on its back hands. Tucking in its legs, it aimed its feet at the middle of the strange material confining it and kicked. The inches thick glass exploded and immediately the series of tunnels and chambers around him erupted with sound. Shrill piercing cries began to emanate from all over and the two-legged creatures in the building began to bob and sway in excitement.

Doppelganger let out a long and low hiss. There was danger now. All around itself it could feel the aggression directed his way as swarms of bipeds began to converge on his position. It would need to be careful while it fed.

* * *

The Special Operations Response Team were busy lounging in their break room, cleaning their weapons while they chatted. It had been a quiet night so far, but that was always a bad sign. Sure enough the alarm began blaring. In an instant they all leaped from their chairs to their lockers. Pulling on their armour over their uniforms, the intercom above them sounded:

'Code red! There has been a security breach in the medical research laboratory! One subject has confirmed to have escaped its holding tank! The subject is Stain! I repeat, the subject is Stain!'

A few of the members of the team tensed. Stain was a skilled fighter, just securing him in the medical research lab in the first place had been a challenge. This wasn't going to be easy.

Amongst the two dozen SORT members there was one tall, gaunt faced man who stood out from his younger comrades. Though a little grey had started creeping in his hair his eyes were sharp as ever. Grabbing his shotgun and pumping a shell into the chamber, the grizzled veteran activated the radio on his collar.

'Central this is Captain Miura responding to Code Red at medical lab. Moving to intercept. Stand-by.'

Captain Miura looked over his team as they strapped on their gear.

'What's the ROE captain?' asked one of his men.

'Ask for compliance, shoot to kill.' Captain Miura said.

'Stain is one of Dr. Frank's pets. Do we have authorization to terminate if he resists?’

'Yes.' Captain Miura said without hesitation.

State property be damned, he knew about Stain and his body count. The worst scum in Japan were housed in Tartarus and he was used to dealing with hardened killers, but Stain was an exception. Though his blood paralysis quirk wasn't the most powerful, he made up for it with his tenacity and cunning. He and his team would be in for a difficult fight.

After a few seconds everyone finished readying their weapons and equipment and they moved out into the hall. Keeping their guns raised, Captain Miura took point as they moved as fast as they could towards the medical lab. Dr. Akatani's laboratory was in the seldom used eastern wing of the prison and as such was relatively isolated from the security network.

'SORT be advised: hall security has arrived outside of med lab. They are awaiting your arrival before breaching.'

'Understood central.' Captain Miura said into his mic as he picked up the pace. His men likewise entered into matching sprints. Hopefully Stain was trapped in the lab.

At last Captain Miura and his men arrived at the locked security doors of the Eastern Wing. A three-inch-thick steel door that was being monitored by several robotic gun turrets stood between them and the lengthy corridor to the medical lab. Captain Miura signalled to the security team behind the glass of a nearby control room and with a press of a button the steel door smoothly retracted allowing the SORT squad entrance.

Boots pounding against the concrete floor, they charged into a long, empty hallway. As soon as the SORT squad finished passing through the security gate, they heard the steel shuttered door clang shut behind them. Stain would have to get through them to escape. Just as they were about halfway down the corridor, they heard gunfire break out from around the corner of the passage in front of them. Captain Miura gritted his teeth. Stain must have been attempting to push outside the lab.

'Central, there’s shots coming from-'

Suddenly the halls rang with a piercing scream. The SORT squad froze as it echoed around them. As quickly as it had begun the scream abruptly ended and the hallway fell into an eerie silence. Captain Miura raised his weapon and advanced.

_He must have paralyzed the security team._

'Stand-by, Central.' Captain Miura relayed into his radio, 'Be ready for hostages.' he said over his shoulder.

His squamates nodded in ascent and he cautiously approached the corner of the hallway. Pressing himself up against the wall with his men at his back he slowly peeked around the corner. Just as his head come around into view of the hallway beyond, he stopped and looked.

There was blood everywhere. Dripping from the ground the ceiling, but where were the bodies? Suddenly he felt a rush of air by his face, but it was already too late.

In a torrent of gore and brains the top half of his helmet was obliterated by a savage swipe from a razer clawed hand. The SORT team blinked in uncomprehending surprise at their captain's slackening body as a blue and red blur came skittering around the wall faster than the eye could process.

In a flurry of rends and tears the squad was brutalized. Four men were torn to pieces, their armour ripping like paper, before they even realized what was happening. Raising their weapons, the remaining team members opened fire, spraying down the hall in panic at the blur before they too were cleaved apart.

At the sight of the carnage in front of him, the rearguard to the troop turned and fled, wildly shouting incoherently into his radio he managed a few steps before his head was snapped back and ripped free by the jawbone. His half-decapitated head slapped wetly on the floor as his body continued stumbling forward for a few steps before collapsing.

At that moment Captain Miura's body finally slumped down from the wall it had been propped up against and splashed down into the growing pool of blood.

Half crouching over the hallway of bodies, Doppelganger paused. Roiling its elongated tongue languorously on the blood covered floor, it felt a familiar rush as the blending flavours tickled its memory. Some of the bipeds tasted much better than others. What flavours were there waiting to be sampled?

Doppelganger's revelry was interrupted by a crackling radio.

'SORT! SORT, respond! Captain Miura! Do you read?!'

Doppelganger retracted its tongue and bore its fangs down the hall towards the steel shuttered door. It could eat later. There were more threats it needed to get through first.

* * *

Izuku escorted his meekly protesting mom from one café to the next before eventually settling down at a popular chain restaurant. He tried his hardest to act as though everything was fine, but to his dismay the danger he sensed had followed him everywhere he went.

_Poison? Zombies? What?! What is it?!_

Ignoring his beverage, he stared off into space while his mother looked at him worriedly.

'Izu, what's wrong? Are you still thinking about your internship? Talk to me…'

He shook his head. There was no possible way he could explain what he was feeling. He couldn’t even describe it to himself.

'Nothings wrong, Mom. I-'

He paused and took a breath.

'-I just needed to get out of the house. Everything is fine. Really.' he said, trying his best to smile, but his mother looked unconvinced.

'Izu.' she said simply, moving to touch his hand, but he quickly pulled back. He didn't want her feeling his web-shooters.

'Mom, don't be weird.' he muttered under his breath as he glanced around the coffee shop in embarrassment.

She merely sighed and looked at the other tables. Most of the people coming in were young couples coming back from bars or clubs looking to stock up on fat to delay their hangovers. They were joking around with each other, laughing and carefree. She turned back to him.

'Sorry, honey. So…what are you going to do over the weekend, Izu?'

'Um…I'll probably finish off my computer code for my new suit. Oh!' suddenly he perked up, 'I never told you my hero name, did I? It's "The Green Goblin"!' he said proudly, 'What do you think?'

She wrinkled her nose and frowned.

'The Green Goblin.' she repeated, 'That sounds like a villain’s name.'

His enthusiasm vanished, 'Why does everybody keep saying that? Its quirky and fun! Like…like a cereal mascot or something. I throw treats to children, and bombs to criminals.'

'Bombs?' she asked sharply.

He swallowed and nodded. He had forgotten how sensitive his mother was about him and explosives.

'I don't like you messing around with bombs, Izu. But as long as your teachers know I guess.' she said disapprovingly.

Before either of them could say anything, he noticed that a few of the people at the other tables seemed to have spotted him. With an exaggerated yawn, he stood up from the booth.

'Well, I'm done. Thanks for the drink. Shall we go?' he said, arching his eyebrows meaningfully.

She must have caught on because she smiled and nodded.

'Sure.'

He carefully kept his face neutral as he heard several phone cameras go off while they exited. He knew he had more important things to worry about, but it still irked him that he was still such a "momma's boy" as Bakugo would say.

As they walked outside, he felt that same pressure as before. If anything, it was even stronger now. Why was it so omnipresent? Was the whole city in danger?

_I hope there's not an asteroid or nuke or something heading our way._

'Its getting late. We should head back.'

He spared another look at the peaceful streets around him before nodding in ascent.

'Yeah. I need to get up early tomorrow anyway.'

He walked alongside his mother back to their apartment, convinced that at any moment an alien warship would descend over Musutafu, but nothing happened. Climbing back into bed, he wondered if maybe he was just letting the stress of it all get to him and settling down under his covers, he tried his best to sleep.

* * *

During the night, Izuku repeatedly checked the internet and television for any news, but there was nothing. No cataclysmic asteroids had fallen, no bridge collapses, no outbreak of nuclear war. Everything seemed normal. But he wasn't ready to relax just yet. His spider senses were never wrong. Somewhere out there, a crisis was looming and he would need to be ready for it.

Once the sun was up, he went to the kitchen and prepared a cup of coffee for himself. As the water heated, he entertained the notion of taking the day off and hovering around home in case anything happened, but he decided against it. His mother would go ballistic if he skipped his internship and besides, if there was an emergency he could do a lot more good downtown then he could cooped up in the apartment.

Still, he was reluctant to leave his mom alone. Finally, the time came when he'd have to leave or be late for his train and he forced himself to start moving.

'Goodbye Mom. I'll see you later.' he said before pausing in front of the door, 'Turn your cellphone on and keep it with you!'

'Yes, goodbye Izu. Remember, try to leave with a strong first impression!' she said as she sipped her coffee.

With one last look at her, he left to catch his train. Everything was calm as he arrived at the city centre station and proceeded through the bustling sidewalk to Endeavour's office. However, upon entering the foyer to go to his usual training session with Taskmaster, he was intercepted by the receptionist.

'Midoriya, Endeavour has called for an emergency meeting in his office, all staff are to proceed there immediately.'

He felt adrenaline surge through his body. Acknowledging the receptionist with a nod, he hastily crossed the hall and entered Endeavour's private elevator. Pushing the “up” button, he began impatiently bouncing on the balls of his feet as he willed it to move faster.

_If there’s an emergency meeting then there must have been an incident! Any money says it's related to my spider sense warning. Could the League of Villains have attacked again? No, it doesn’t make sense. Shigaraki said he was waiting to build another team to conduct a special operation. Why would he launch another attack before his team was ready?_

He ran a hand through his hair.

_I guess one way or another I’ll find out at our meeting tonight._

Arriving at the top floor, the doors opened and he quickly strode down the hallway to Endeavour's office. Fuyumi looked over as he approached. Today she was all business.

'Go right in. Everybody is still assembling.' she said.

He opened the doors. Several costumed men and women, including Taskmaster and Dr. Connors, were engaged in a private conversation around Endeavour while several younger costumed men and women stood nearby. Off to the side he spotted Kusuma anxiously fiddling with her hands by a bookshelf. He walked over to join her.

'What's happening?' Izuku asked as he drew near.

At the sound of his voice she jumped slightly.

'Ah! Midoriya, you startled me.' she breathed, 'There has been an incident at Tartarus.'

He looked at her in surprise. He had heard of Tartarus of course. It was the most notorious prison in all of Japan. It was built to contain the most vile, powerful supervillains around. How could anything have happened there?

'An incident? I thought Tartarus was impenetrable?'

'It's supposed to be, but there was an attack all the same. All we know is that some of the inmates are unaccounted for and there have been multiple confirmed casualties. We're still waiting to hear an exact count. Apparently, the forensic examination is…difficult given the state of some of the victims.' she said grimly, 'Details are scarce. However, we know that Spider-Man was involved.'

'Spider-Man? Are you sure? Were they're eyewitnesses or…?'

'Surveillance footage, eyewitness accounts, about as much evidence as we could ever need really. I've had the chance to review some of the footage myself. It was extremely graphic.' Kusuma said grimacing.

'I-I see.'

_They have footage? Did someone dress up as me and start killing people? This is like Stain all over again!_

'Do we know why Spider-Man was at Tartarus? Was he trying to break someone out?'

'Motivations are unknown at this time, but…' Kusuma looked over at Endeavour and Dr. Connors before lowering her voice, 'I have a theory.'

He edged closer to her and she leaned over to his ear.

'Have you heard about the man Spider-Man attacked in the penthouse of the Glassway Tower?' Izuku nodded and she continued, 'Well it turns out he was a supervillain who called himself Shocker. He wasn't known outside of the criminal underworld, but supposedly he was the kingpin of crime across Musutafu. In the wake of the attack they discovered enough evidence to have him arrested and he was sent to Tartarus to await trail. My theory is that Spider-Man was going to kill him that night, but got interrupted before he could finish Shocker off. So I wager he broke in to Tartarus to take him out.'

He frowned, 'Why would Spider-Man want to kill him? Why not just let him rot in prison?'

'Who knows what might have appeared in court? Maybe Shocker knew something that could implicate Spider-Man? His true identity, his associates, hell, maybe Spider-Man just wanted to finish what he started. In any event, Shocker is among the missing inmates at Tartarus. And given the state of the bodies…'

He pulled back and looked at her in alarm.

_Shocker is missing?!_

'This is…very bad.' he said nervously, 'You said multiple inmates are missing. Did Spider-Man attack them too?'

'A few yes, but several others used the commotion to escape. It's all a mess right now.' she sighed, running a hand through her hair, 'That's what this meeting is about. Endeavour is heading the taskforce to recapture the lost inmates, but we need to get organized. Every minute we waste the escapee's trail gets colder.'

As Kusuma fell into a fretful silence, Izuku saw Shoto Todoroki enter the room. Looking over at his father for a moment, he noticed Izuku and made his way over.

'Midoriya.' he said plainly, 'Do you know what's going on?'

'There has been a breakout at Tartarus. From what we know…'

After he and Kusuma filled in Todoroki of the situation, he nodded.

'Seems like we'll be busy today. I'll probably be joining the manhunt. What's support going to be doing?' Todoroki asked.

'That depends on your father.' Kusuma said, 'But I would imagine we're going to be trying to deduce Spider-Man's quirk for any upcoming battle. Reviewing the footage of the attack, it seems as though he has developed himself to become much more powerful.'

He felt his heart beat faster. _More powerful?_

At that moment, Kusuma looked away from them. Dr. Connors was beckoning her over.

'Excuse me.' she said, as she hurried over to the huddle of senior heroes.

He and Todoroki stood side by side in silence. His mind was racing as he considered what he had just learned. It had to have been a copy cat only this time they were wearing his costume too by the sound of it. He would need to track down the impersonator before more people were killed.

_I was able to find Stain by focusing my spider-sense, but back then I was able to visit the crime scene. I doubt that they would let me into Tartarus, I'm just an intern after all. Maybe I can piece something together from the evidence that Dr. Connors has…_

As he considered his options, he heard Todoroki cough slightly, disrupting his chain of thought.

'Sorry to interrupt, but I didn't quite understand what you were saying.' Todoroki said.

'Huh?'

'You were mumbling.' Todoroki said evenly, 'Something about evidence and Tartarus?'

'Oh!' Izuku exclaimed worriedly. _Sheesh was I talking out loud just then?_ 'Um, I was just thinking about the evidence of the attack. That's all.'

'I see.' Todoroki paused, 'You know, I've been wanting to speak with you for a while now, but I haven't had the chance. About what happened on Sunday…'

He gulped. Amidst the whirlwind of activity, he had forgotten about the little stunt he and Mei had pulled on class 1-A. It all seemed silly and childish now.

'Oh, right. Sorry about that. I'm not usually the pranking sort of person.'

'Please, its fine. I'm not without a sense of humour.' Todoroki deadpanned, 'But I was surprised that you managed to lose me. I thought I had you on the train. I assume you saw me board and snuck off with the departing passengers?'

'Yeah.'

Todoroki sighed resignedly, 'That's three times you've managed to beat me, Midoriya. I'll need to work harder.'

Izuku treated Todoroki to a small, confused smile.

_Three times? What's he talking about?_

'You know, my dad had originally planned on having me, you, and the other junior members engage in an impromptu competition today, but what with the crisis and all, it seems as though we won't get the chance.'

'R-really?' he said, trying not to sound too relieved.

'Yes. My father seems to like you. I've no doubt that he'll try and recruit you if you keep this up.'

He was about to respond when Endeavour's voice sounded.

'All right everyone! Form up.' Endeavour called.

* * *

Izuku, Todoroki and the others all hushed and gathered before Endeavour who stood with his senior staff behind his giant desk. The atmosphere in the room was tense as everyone waited for him to speak.

'I'll keep this brief.’ Endeavour began, ‘There has been a breakout at Tartarus and as many as twenty inmates have escaped into Musutafu and the surrounding countryside. Every hero agency in the city is being mustered to join the manhunt, including us. Our top priorities are to secure those prisoners with the most devastating quirks before they're able to go to ground and disappear. Here, -' he arranged a series of envelopes on his desk, 'We'll stick with existing teams. Except you Shoto - you're with me. Every team take a dossier on your target and move out.'

At that each team leader moved forward and grabbed their mission folder. Izuku stepped out of the way as everyone bustled around. Amidst this urgency, he floundered in uncertainty for a moment before thankfully Dr. Connors and Kusuma came to him.

'Midoriya,' Dr. Connors said, pulling Izuku with him and Kusuma towards the hallway, 'We've got ssssome critical work to do.'

'Are we going to be helping the others track down the escaped supervillains?' Izuku said, keeping pace with the other two as they exited Endeavour's office.

'No. They will be on the move constantly. Pursuing them is best left to the teamsss in the field. Instead I think it would be best if you asssssisted us in trying to pin down Spider-Man. Myself and Dr. Kusuma still need to go over the ssssurveillance footage, but any insight you may have on Spider-Man's whereabouts may prove invaluable.'

'Why haven't they announced a general alarm yet?' Izuku asked as they quickly walked towards the side elevators, 'There was no mention of a prison escape on T.V. or the internet.'

'I imagine they didn't want to create a panic.' Kasuma said as they entered the elevator, 'Many of the inmates who escaped were notorious criminals with a laundry list of atrocities to their names, some of which are still fresh in the public's consciousness. The Sinister Six, M.O.D.O.K, that…monster Kasady.' Kusuma trailed off, making a disgusted face before she swallowed, 'It's only a matter of time before things escalate. I just hope Endeavour and the others can apprehend them before there's an attack.'

Izuku fell silent as he mulled their words over. Didn't Shocker use to be a member of the Sinister Six? Did he arrange for a breakout with a Spider-Man imposter? It sure would be a hell of a way to get revenge.

The elevator doors opened and he followed Dr. Connors and Kusuma into the development studio. Walking past the silently humming banks of computers and machinery, he took a seat while Dr. Connors and Kusuma discussed the division of responsibilities and what they should be looking for. Despite the urgency of the situation, he couldn't help but feel an overwhelming emptiness. It had taken so much effort, so much blood and sweat and tears to put Shocker away the first time, and now after barely spending a week in prison he was free?

_I guess the succession war is cancelled now that the band is back together. At least there won't be a bloody power struggle. Or maybe there will be? Speed Demon never got caught after all. Come to think of it, maybe they'll just carve the slums into six pieces and all start duking it out over the Trigger Distribution._

His bitter thoughts were interrupted by the mention of a name.

'…Dr. Akatani will be reviewing our report. If we don't have anything substantial than-'

'Eh?!' Izuku cried, very nearly falling out of his stool, 'Did you say Dr. Akatani? What has he got to do with this?'

Dr. Connors and Kusuma stared at him, blinking in surprise.

'Dr. Akatani is the ranking physician at Tartarus. He's the person responsible for the forensic investigation at the scene. Do you know him?'

'Y-Yeah.' Izuku shifted uncomfortably in his seat, 'When I was little my mom took me to see him. He was a, uh, quirk specialist at the time and I wanted to have my quirk potential re-evaluated.' He said in embarrassment. Clearing his throat, he quickly changed the subject, 'What's he doing in Tartarus?'

Kusuma frowned, 'I'm not entirely sure. It may have to do with the security system. I know that most of their inmate control policy depends on suppressing quirks. A doctor with his expertise is no doubt quite useful for evaluating new prisoners and tailoring security systems to specific individuals. As far as I'm aware, he doesn't work there full time. I believe he's mostly a sort of contractor for the government, offering his skills to whichever department needs him most.' Kusuma said.

'Yessss. A very proficient scientisssst indeed, though not without his ssshare of controversy. As I recall, he had a research lab at Tartarussss, but it was closed under suspicioussss circumstances. Very hush-hush.'

Izuku felt a shiver run up his spine. He had a hunch that Dr. Akatani was doing more than conducting a forensic investigation.

'You said you had security footage of Spider-Man. May I see it?' Izuku asked.

Immediately they began shaking their heads and refusing. It was like he was a child asking if he could watch an R rated movie. He tried to argue with them, citing that he would need as much information as possible to do his job effectively, but they were still reluctant. He persisted however and eventually his pestering payed off.

'Can I at least see how he moves?' Izuku pleaded, 'You must have some footage of him that isn't too extreme.'

Kusuma let out an exasperated sigh. Looking over at Dr. Connors, he gave her an almost imperceptible shrug, before turning back to his computer.

'Alright, fine. I'll see what I can scrounge up. You don't take no for an answer, do you?'

'Nope.' Izuku said cheerfully before adopting a more serious tone, 'I won't disappoint you with this information, Kusuma. I promise I'll make good use of it.'

She snorted and returned to her computer. After a few moments she called him over.

'Here.' she said as she offered him her seat, 'The cameras have a high framerate and I’ve slowed everything down, but even so. Pay close attention, he's very fast.'

Izuku felt a thrill of nervousness run up his spine as he clicked play.

* * *

The screen showed a barren, straight, grey hallway illuminated by harsh florescent lights from both the side and ceiling. It was the sort of joyless passageway Izuku expected from a supermax prison. However, as he watched he suddenly saw a splash of red and blue fly across the walls.

He took a sharp intake of breath as the imposter came into view. The mystery man’s costume was almost exactly like his own. With the exception of the missing spider pattern on the back, it was a near perfect copy. However, that wasn't all that was different about the newcomer. Unlike himself, this Doppelganger had four extra arms, arranged in two pairs coming off above and below the shoulders.

_Whoever this is he's more spiderlike than I am. But how?_

As that particularly worrisome thought crossed his mind, he couldn't help but notice the Doppelganger's nasty looking mouth. Even more disturbing was the long, flickering pink tongue that kept running across its maw of razer sharp teeth. Staring at the creature, he couldn't help but feel a deep unease. It was familiar looking yet completely alien at the same time. It even moved like him. At high speed, in the dark, he could see how someone could confuse him with this…thing.

He paused the recording so he could better examine the suit the copycat was wearing. The material seemed to be as thin as his own spider-suit as he could clearly see all of the man's muscles. To his relief, the Doppelganger didn't appear to have any web-shooters.

_When I confront this guy at least I won't have to worry about getting webbed. Still, I wish he didn't steal my look! How did he work the costume into wrapping around his mouth like that? His suit makes the phrase skin tight…_

Suddenly he was struck by a terrible realization. He wasn't looking at a man in a costume at all. It was so obvious! The presence of Dr. Akatani, the spider like characteristics, the powers. It all made sense.

_Those colours aren't copying my costume, they're the original patterning of the mutant insect! They've made another Spider-Man!_

With baited breath he resumed the recording. He wished his theory was false, but the more he saw the more he became convinced. The only question was why was this guy so much more spider-like than he was? Was it because he was grown in a lab and was therefore "purer" spider? If that was the case then he was glad he didn't share this guys fate. The thing in the video looked monstrous.

_I think it's about time that I had a checkup with Dr. Akatani. If anybody has any answers, it's a safe bet that he does._

* * *

Izuku's remaining time at Endeavour's hero office was spent sifting through the video clips that were available to him. As disturbing as it might be, he wanted to see the _other_ Spider-Man in combat, but Dr. Connors and Kusuma refused, point blank.

'It would be unethical, Midoriya. You aren't officially tied to the investigation nor do you have your provisional hero's licence. We have to think about the families of the victims too, you know?'

He couldn't argue with that, so he let the matter drop. Unfortunately, though the clips were very useful for him as Spider-Man, they weren't as informative as he had hoped in deconstructing the copycat's motives or movements in the city for Endeavour. Thankfully the hero teams seemed to have more success than he did as several of the escaped inmates were apprehended over the course of the day, though the most high-profile prisoners remained at large, including Shocker.

At the days end, he was forced to concede defeat and tell Dr. Connors and Kusuma that he had no idea where Spider-Man could be other than to suggest that he had retreated to "somewhere" in the slums.

'It'sssss to be expected.' Dr. Connors hissed, 'If you had disssscovered where he was, then I would have been amazed.'

'I wouldn't be surprised if the only way we stop Spider-Man is if he is caught out in the open. Good try though Midoriya.' Kusuma said kindly.

The conclusion to his internship felt anticlimactic. After the build up of the past few days of training he had expected some sort of trial by combat but the breakout at Tartarus seemed to have derailed whatever send off Endeavour had planned.

'So…what happens now?' he asked.

'You can go home, I guess. It's quitting time for interns.' Kusuma said with a yawn.

'Well…if you want, I can stay and-' Izuku started before Kusuma quickly cut him off.

'No, no, no. Midoriya, let me give you some key advice: A support hero's time is everything. If you're not on the clock and being payed, then walk away and let the meatheads handle it. Rest assured that sooner or later they'll run headfirst into a brick wall and then they'll come to you, cash in hand with a problem to solve. For heroes, charity is noble. But charity _towards_ heroes is a rarely rewarded exercise.'

'But-but this is an emergency. Shouldn't I do everything I can to save lives?'

Kusuma treated him to a small smile and Dr. Connors glanced over from his computer bank.

'Yessss. Saving lives is paramount, but in the end support heroes are tools. And tools have a habit of being misused by ungrateful ownersssss. You have skill and talent, Midoriya. Someone like you should not be forced to work for free. If you work yoursssself to the bone for nothing, I can guarantee you that you will be valued as nothing. You have a resssssponsibility to yourself too, you know.'

Kusuma nodded, 'Burning out in the support business is a very real thing. Go home and try to rest up for your classes next week. Eventually you'll come to realize that there is always a crisis on the horizon.'

'Oh.' Izuku said, blinking in surprise, 'Well. okay. Hopefully I see you guys again.'

'Take care. Keep your grades up and I guarantee you, you'll have at least one job offer come graduation.' Kusuma said with a wink.

After gathering his things and saying one last goodbye to Kusuma and Dr. Connors, he headed for the subway. Exiting on to the city streets he felt his spider-sense again warn him of a distant danger, same as last night only now it seemed to be carried on the wind. He frowned as he felt the tingling race over his body.

_I would have thought that my spider-sense would have calmed down by now, but it's still as strong as ever. Strange._

As he rode the train home, he noticed that everyone was considerably more anxious than they were on the way in to work that morning. Rather than their blank zombie-like expressions, each of them appeared strained; internally counting down the seconds until they arrived in the perceived safety of their homes. As he observed them fret and worry in tense silence, he thought over the advice that Dr. Connors and Kusuma had given him and found himself disagreeing with it wholeheartedly.

_Tonight, me and Dr. Akatani are going to have a little chat about his spider formula._


	33. Keeping Appointments

Arriving home, Izuku quickly went to his room and donned his spider-suit. While he was at Endeavour’s development studio, he had been able to learn that Dr. Akatani was staying at a hotel in downtown Musutafu. If he was lucky, he would still be there tonight.

As he grabbed his mask, he suddenly remembered that he had to meet with the League of Villains that evening. In all the excitement, he had somehow forgotten. Crying out in frustration, he buried his face in his hands. How could he have forgotten something so important?

_I don't want to miss my chance with the League, but Dr. Akatani takes priority. I just hope that they don't start rewarding me over the breakout at Tartarus. Jeez, that would suck…wait._

He froze, hoodie pulled half over his head and shoulders. New troubling thoughts had emerged.

_The League's no doubt heard about the breakout at Tartarus and everyone already thinks Spider-Man did it. Should I take the credit?_

He sighed and finished pulling his hoodie over his head. Navigating the social quagmire of being a secret good guy, a double agent working with bad guys, and a public good guy with no powers sure got confusing sometimes.

_I'll play it straight. If Mr. Itchy's contacts and resources are as expansive as he said they were, then it's not unreasonable to assume that he could get his chapped hands on the surveillance footage of the breakout. And for as persuasive as I am, I doubt I could explain the sudden absence of four extra limbs._

Drawing his sleeves down over his web-shooters, he walked over to the apartment exit. As he passed through the kitchen, he turned to his mom who was watching television.

'Hey Mom, I'm gonna go hang out with some of my buds, okay? We all promised to meet after our internships.'

'Oh! Er, are you sure that's a good idea, Izu? The police said that everyone should stay put at home.'

He blinked, 'Oh. Aha! Ha ha ha! No, no, no. It's…fine. W-When I was at Endeavour's office, I learned that the escaped villains are already on the run. I should be fine. Just fine.'

He continued to laugh nervously as his mother stared at him. Once his laughter petered out, she nodded and gave him a small, worried smile.

'Really? Okay. I trust you. Goodbye Izu. Don't stay out late.'

'Alright I won't. Er, don't wait up. Bye!'

* * *

All Might stood panting in the middle of the parking lot, coughing slightly as water from a destroyed hydrant rained down on him and the supervillain he had just been fighting. Steadying himself, he took in the destruction. The fight had spilled over into the parking lot of an upscale restaurant, or what remained of it anyway. The twisted wrecks of luxury cars lay scattered around the shallow crater his punch had created during his battle. His face hardened at the sight.

_Looks like I just tacked on an extra couple billion to my collateral tally._

'Hey…hey…'

All Might looked down. The villain he had just defeated was attempting to rise to his feet. Planting a boot on the villain's chest, he pushed him back down.

'It's over, Rhino. Submit.'

The giant, grey skinned man beneath him struggled against the mounting pressure for a few moments before he succumbed and fell back. As Rhino struggled to catch his breath, he fixed the blue and red clad hero with a hateful glare.

'I an't goin' back in that hole, All Might.' Rhino growled, 'You'll have to kill me first.'

All Might didn't have the energy to argue. Bending down, he delivered a sharp jab to Rhino's chin. With a sharp * _CRACK_ * the blow connected, knocking the Rhino out cold. Grimacing at the pain on his side, All Might straightened back upright and activated the small communicator by his wrist.

'District, come in.' he said.

'All Might, this is District. What is your situation?' came a breathless reply.

All Might couldn't help but smile slightly. He didn't recognize the man connecting him with the local police district, but it sounded like it a rookie officer. It was humbling to think what his voice meant to some people.

'I've managed to intercept the escaped villain, Rhino. He is at Avenue R and 30th. No injured-'

All Might quickly drew his head back from his wrist and coughed into his other hand. Hacking up a thick glob of blood, he spat and wiped his mouth.

_I'm almost out of time. I'll need to stop soon._

Turning back to his communicator, he finished his message to dispatch. 'Pardon. No injured civilians. Please send a containment team.'

'Yes sir! Containment teams dispatched. Congratulations, All Might!'

He deactivated his communicator and began coughing again. If he was in his prime, he could have finished rounding up all of the escaped criminals by now. However, as it stood, he would have to trust in the other heroes.

_How many more disasters do I have left in me I wonder? This can't go on._

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of approaching sirens. As soon as he was relieved, he would head home for some much-needed rest. He would need his strength for tomorrow.

* * *

Dr. Akatani was silent as he hung up his hotel suite's phone. His whole body felt numb, though whether from the alcohol or the argument he had just had was difficult to determine. To say that chairman Sekkachi was displeased would be an understatement. Enraged, would be a better word. Stain had escaped, and despite his insistence that the deaths at Tartarus were an acceptable cost to pay for a successful quirk manifestation experiment, a few members of the board had disagreed. Violently so.

With a sigh, he slowly stumbled his way over to the minibar. He was in dangerous territory now. He had authorized the experiment on Stain without preapproval from the other members of the board in an attempt to expedite the process. At the time he had believed that if he could demonstrate the effectiveness of his serum, then not even Sekkachi could touch him. But unfortunately, his serum was a little _too_ successful, and as a result there was now a dangerous serial killer turned mutated monstrosity on the loose doing God knows what.

'Dr. Frankenstein indeed.' Dr. Akatani muttered as he fumbled around the depleted minibar.

As he rummaged through the small refrigerator, he felt a cool draft blow over him. Pulling his head out from the fridge, he peered over at the balcony access. The curtains surrounding his window were fluttering softly in the breeze and his balcony door was wide open. He frowned. He hadn't been out on his balcony once since his arrival in Musutafu. Setting down his empty glass on a nearby table, he went to the door and firmly shut it.

Turning, he froze as a blue and red figure emerged from the shadows. For a moment his heart stopped and his blood turned to ice at the sight of the intruder. He had seen what Stain had done to those guards and prisoners.

The blue and red figure stepped forward and he stumbled backward, tripping over his coffee table and landing helplessly on the floor. He felt a cold sweat break out over his body as the intruder drew near. He wanted to run, but his body wouldn't follow his commands.

The figure loomed over him, imposing and terrible. Dr. Akatani could only watch in terror as it drew near.

'What's the matter, doc? You look like you've seen a ghost.'

* * *

Izuku looked down at the cowering man with a mixture of pity and contempt. The fearful expression on the balding man was satisfying in a way, he deserved far worse than a little scare for the deaths he caused at Tartarus, but seeing someone react in fear to him still made him uncomfortable.

'What's the matter doc? You look like you've seen a ghost.' he said casually.

A flitter of incomprehension passed over Dr. Akatani's features. He swallowed, his eyes darting back and forth. Izuku sighed.

'It's me, Spider-Man. You know, the _real_ Spider-Man. Not that freak you created at Tartarus.'

Dr. Akatani sat there blinking.

'O-Oh?' he said uncertainly, 'Y-Yes, of course.' he breathed and swallowed again, 'You're wearing a costume. Of…of course.'

He watched as the man shakily stood up. Straightening his rumbled shirt and tie, he brought his hands together and bowed his head slightly.

'To what do I owe the pleasure Mr…?' Dr. Akatani began.

He snorted, 'You've got to be kidding! You think I'd tell you my name? You've been hunting me since day one!'

Dr. Akatani recoiled as though he had been slapped, 'Hunting? No, no, no. My dear boy, I've been _searching_ for you. I'm a medical professional who specializes in quirks you see, and the tragic medical accident you have been afflicted by needs to be examined for any lasting negative effects. I can help you.'

'Uh, huh.' he said sarcastically, 'And I'm guessing your examination will include a little brain surgery. Brain surgery with the oh so minor side effect of my death, but whatever. It's for my own good isn't it?'

Dr. Akatani adopted an indignant look as though such callousness was beneath him.

'I never planned on anything so invasive! Trust me, on my medical licence, I swear I would never perform any procedures on an ill informed, unwilling patient.' Dr. Akatani said solemnly and Izuku burst out laughing.

'Oh, yeah?’ he said, shaking his head at the absurdity, ‘So, your little experiment gone wrong that's currently up to God knows what in the city knew what he was getting into did he?'

Dr. Akatani scowled slightly, 'The experiment was sanctioned by the government against a known terrorist and subversive. If you do some research into the constitution, it states that criminals convicted of certain federal crimes forfeit some rights when they are incarcerated and-'

'Please.' he scoffed, 'I'm sure everything you did was perfectly legal. I'm not questioning that. It was just evil. Evil and twisted. For a normal doctor, the Hippocratic Oath and hell, personal ethics, supersedes the law.'

A nearly imperceptible ripple of annoyance passed over Dr. Akatani's face at the mention of ethics.

'It is all well and good to have a code. However, scientific advancement has always bore with it a heavy burden of consequence. What may kill twenty today, may save millions in a decade.' Dr. Akatani said emotionlessly. He got the sense that the good doctor had repeated this line many, many times over his career.

'I didn't come here to debate you, doctor.' he said coldly, 'I want to know why I have a body double running around killing people.'

Keeping his eyes on Izuku, Dr. Akatani slowly moved over to the chair and sat down. Removing his glasses, he began polishing the silver framed spectacles on his shirt as he appraised him.

'What?' Izuku said challengingly.

'Oh, nothing. I'm just…impressed is all.' Dr. Akatani said softly. The tone immediately put him on edge.

'What do you mean?'

'You're much different from the other specimen. No abnormal musculature, normal proportion's.' he paused, looking Izuku up and down, 'I'm guessing beneath your suit you look more or less the same since before you were bitten?' Dr. Akatani asked leadingly. Izuku said nothing, but Dr. Akatani nodded regardless.

'Yes. So much different.' Dr. Akatani continued softly as he replaced his spectacles, 'But to answer your question, the "abomination" as you call him was once a prisoner named Chizome Akaguro or Stain. I believe you've met?'

He gasped, 'Stain? That thing was once Stain?'

'Yes.' Dr. Akatani said absently, 'I would have preferred to use a quirkless prisoner, but the only quirkless inmate at Tartarus, one Cletus Kasady, is currently appealing his sentences so I had to make do.' Dr. Akatani's voice was calm and collected. He sounded like he was describing his lunch or his commute to work.

'What on earth possessed you to give more power to a villain like Stain?' he sputtered and Dr. Akatani pursed his lips and smiled.

'Like I said, I had to make do. In any case, he was a prime specimen. Young. Healthy. A bit uncooperative I'll admit, but that is to be expected.'

'But why go through the experiment at all?!'

'Why?' Dr. Akatani said distantly as though pondering the question, 'I don't know very much about you Spider-Man, but I suspect me and you were once quite similar. Like yourself, I was also born without a quirk. Of course, in my generation it wasn't as uncommon as yours but it still made me a minority. As a child, I wanted nothing more than to manifest a quirk, to have some unique outward expression of myself. Something visible and unique.'

'That never happened of course, but I never gave up the hope. The hope that one day I could manifest quirks in others. And why not? I had the intellect, the drive. Even at a young age I would meticulously observe my peers, recording everything I could about them into my notebook. There is nothing magical about quirks you know, they are just errant pieces of genetic code. I knew that with science I could realize my dream. I could enable others to have what I could not.'

'Take you for example, Spider-Man. Based on your behaviour thus far, I would surmise that you wanted to become a hero, didn't you? To help people, to save lives, but because you were born quirkless that dream was quashed from birth…until you happened upon a certain spider that is. And now look at you! I've read enough reports about your activity to know that you are a true hero, maybe not in the public's eye of course, but a noble defender of justice all the same.’

'Are you expecting a thank you?' Izuku asked, his voice raising angrily.

'There is no need.' Dr. Akatani said as a wry smile played on his lips, 'Afterall, I had very little to do with creating you Spider-Man. Well. Your powers and name yes, but not _you_. How did you manage to get bitten by the way?'

He didn’t respond and Dr. Akatani arched his eyebrows, and bowed his head. Putting back on his glasses, he resumed his speech.

'No matter. Anyway, allow me to answer your question without the dialectics. The reason I experimented on Stain was that like any good scientist who makes an accidental discovery, I attempted to replicate my creation with the aid of some…techniques I learned recently from a specimen that was recovered from the attack at U.A. High School.'

_The Nomu! He must have been able to reverse engineer the process that created him!_

'So what, this was all for the hope of developing medical technology?'

Dr. Akatani chuckled, 'To me yes, but not in the eyes of my superiors. Aside from the military, the government is more concerned with curtailing quirks, not creating new ones. They believe that eventually the general population will become too powerful - too destructive - to control. Even with heroes shepherding them.'

Dimly Izuku remembered the words of the tour guide back at the Quirk Research Institute. They had been looking into ways to manage quirks. Evidently Dr. Akatani had his own plans though. He doubted that something like Spider-Stain was part of the government's grand vision for the future.

'If that's the case, what are you doing making new quirks at all?' he said frowning, 'If the goal is to remove quirks in individuals, why bother with the spider formula?'

Dr. Akatani leaned forward in his chair. Despite his precarious position, he looked absolutely delighted with himself.

'A little deception on my part.' Dr. Akatani whispered, voice trembling with excitement, 'I have led the government to believe that the path to quirk suppression is in understanding its genesis when truth be told, I devised a chemical compound that once administered can permanently disable a quirk years ago.' he chuckled, 'If my superiors only knew, they would be positively _murderous_.'

Izuku couldn’t believe what he was hearing. To think that the doctor his mother had sent him to was so unhinged.

'What did you do to Stain? I mean, actually do to him?'

'Same thing that happened to you really. Increased musculature, speed, reflexes, senses. You should have a better idea of the spider serum's effect than me.'

'So he has all my powers?' Izuku asked despairingly.

'Not quite. He should be a good deal more powerful.' Dr. Akatani said and Izuku felt his face drain of colour, 'I have a little theory actually. The reason why he is so much more spiderlike than you is because he was given sufficient energy to finish the metamorphosis from man to spider. When you were mutated you probably didn't consume enough calories.'

The words caused him to recoil in shock. He remembered how hungry he had been that first few days. If he had eaten more food during his transformation, would he have mutated like Stain had? It was probably impossible outside of a laboratory setting given that he was unconscious for most of it, but even so. While he was trying to wrap his head around this revelation, Dr. Akatani continued.

'In addition, he has the same quirk he had prior to his transformation. If he can sample your blood, then you are paralyzed. Quite a combo for a being with such prestigious teeth, eh? I shouldn’t take all the credit though. I _acquired_ some additional material that allowed the quirk splice. Even so besides yourself, Stain is my greatest achievement.’

He glared at the man. Instead of sounding remorseful or afraid, Dr. Akatani sounded downright pleased with himself.

'What are his weaknesses?' he growled through his teeth.

'Well besides whatever weaknesses you have, I would say intelligence. His brain literally rewrote itself during the manifestation event, leaving him with little to no remnants of personality or humanity.' Dr. Akatani sighed, 'I'll need to work on that bit. Not even the military wants an indiscriminate killing machine.'

'Do you have any idea of where he is? You must have put a tracking device in him or something…'

Dr. Akatani shook his head, 'If I knew where to find him, I would have directed All Might his way already. Trust me, I want Stain stopped as much as you do.'

'Oh really? Is he too embarrassing for you?' Izuku asked dryly.

'Something like that. As unscrupulous as the government might be, they don't take kindly to their taxpayers getting eaten.'

'Eaten?!' he cried in alarm.

'Oh, yes. It seems as though Stain's bloodlust and the heightened metabolism imparted by the spider mutation resulted in a gruesome combination, producing a creature of voracious appetite. Have you ever experienced any…temptations?' he asked peering over his glasses at him.

'No!' he shouted in disgust.

However, try as he might he couldn't help but remember the sensations he felt during his hunt for Stain. The way he tasted the air, feeling for his prey as he skulked through the twisting vents and maintenance shafts of the Grey Towers. Could that be how Stain perceived the city now?

'Well that's good. Do you have any further questions for me?' Dr Akatani asked, crossing his legs.

Izuku scowled at his apparent aloof attitude. As disconcerting as his earlier fearfulness was, his blasé professionalism towards their conversation was even worse.

'No. But listen: If I find out that you're conducting any more experiments…' he started in as intimidating a voice as he could, but Dr. Akatani merely gave him a condescending look.

'I am a servant to the government, Spider-Man and I will do precisely what I am ordered and sanctioned by my superiors to do. If you are worried about me making any more spider-men, then you can relax. I think that my insect-based formula has proven itself to be a failure for human test subjects. Er, present company excluded of course. Now, having said that; it is almost certain that the government will order me to conduct more tests in the future. If you have a problem with that then I suggest you take it up with them.'

He let out his breath in a long, drawn out angry hiss. He couldn't very well beat the doctor up, but he should feel some sort of punishment. Walking past Dr. Akatani, who remained calmly seated, he made his way over to the balcony door. Before he left, he turned his head over his shoulder.

'I'm going to go clean up your mess doctor, because like it or not I have a responsibility to this city. However, a word of advice: If you're right about me and Stain sharing the same powers then if I were you, I would run as far from Musutafu as I could.'

'And why is that?' Dr. Akatani said without turning around.

'Because if Stain's transformation was as painful as mine was, then trust me; he'll remember your scent. Assuming you were there of course.'

Dr. Akatani whipped his head around in alarm, but Izuku had already opened the balcony doors. Ignoring the man's cries for clarification, Izuku swan dove down a few stories before swinging himself away. As he swung, he felt a small smile creep on to his face.

_At least if I can't beat Stain then Dr. Akatani will get a taste of his own medicine._

* * *

Swinging across the city as carefully and quickly as he could, Izuku hurried to his meeting with the League of Villains. Contrary to what he had told his mother, the city was in absolute chaos. While the heroes were occupied with the Tartarus escapees, roaming herds of petty villains had emerged from the woodwork to steal, burn, and bash to their hearts desire. The police had mobilized, but they were badly outnumbered. For every one looter they arrested, five more ran free.

He felt a pang of guilt as he swung above and away from group of rampaging thugs that were raiding a department store. Hooting and hollering crudely to each other, they were steadily demolishing the steel shuttered security gate that protected the store's windows, eager for a taste of the high life.

_At least everything's closed._ He thought dejectedly while the looters swarmed below. He reasoned that if he stopped and dealt with every group of criminals he came across, he'd be fighting until morning. Assuming he wasn't dogpiled by heroes first that is.

Leaving them behind, he swung beneath the overhead train tracks and followed them to the slums. After a few minutes of travel and several close encounters where police were slugging it out with rioters, he at last arrived at The Den.

Crouching down into the shadows of the rooftop AC units on the building across the street, he watched and waited. It was likely that the heroes had heard that he was sighted at the club last week. If that were the case, they might have staked the place out.

Chewing his lip, he felt a drop of sweat roll off his chin. His spider sense was going crazy.

* * *

Izuku cautiously pushed open the door to The Den nightclub. He had been waiting outside the suspiciously silent rave pit for the last couple of minutes before his anxiety got the better of him. He didn't detect a trap, but then again, he couldn't detect much of anything with his spider sense going haywire.

Glancing around the club, he saw that the entire floor was empty and cleared. The only other person in the building was a solitary figure in a luxurious fur coat hunched over in a chair by the bar. Before he could recognize them, the person spun around in their stool. It was Toga. Like before her face lit up in glee at the sight of him and her eyes brightly shone despite the appearance of fatigue that clung to her face.

'Hey, Spider-Man!' called out Toga, 'Come 'er, you troublemaker you!'

He walked over to her while she hummed a merry tune.

'Hi, Toga. How're you? You look…' he paused as she raised her eyebrows expectantly. He was about to say dead tired, but he quickly reconsidered. The last thing he wanted was to cause trouble before the meeting, '…good. Nice coat.' She waved his praise away, blushing.

'Thanks. I just picked it up downtown. Do you really think I look good? I think it might be a little too much for me.'

It was. The coat was several sizes too big for her and the sleeves hung down to the floor, but he didn't hesitate.

'No, it suits you fine. Really, ehm, chic.'

She flashed him a quick smile and he noticed her sharp canines again. Swinging herself back around to face the bar, she slapped the seat of the stool beside her and he reluctantly sat.

'You're too sweet.' she sighed, 'I can't remember the last time I got a compliment. Nobody in school even sees me.' For some reason Toga found this deeply amusing and she burst out into a tittering laughter. He felt his interest pique.

'R-Really? I have a hard time buying that. What school do you go to?'

'Whichever takes my fancy. If I find someone I like, I take a…scholarship with them. Walk a mile in their shoes, meet the family, etc. How about you? What school do you go to? Given your knowledge of high fashion, it must be pretty prestigious.'

'I'm not in school. I'm older than I look.' he said confidently. Toga's smile broadened and her eyes twinkled dangerously.

'Oh? Hmmm.' she said in a clearly disbelieving tone, 'Whatever you say, hot stuff.'

'Anyway.' he said hastily, eager to change the subject, 'Is this place secure? The heroes are swarming across the city right now, and we're not exactly hiding in a church.'

As if on cue. There was a faint clinking sound from the metal gantry far above them. Izuku looked up warily but he didn't see anything.

'We should be safe in here for now.' Toga said dismissively, 'But speaking of heroes, come on, don't leave me hanging; what's going on with Tartarus? I heard you stormed the prison and broke a bunch of people out!'

Izuku hesitated, 'No…It um, wasn't me.'

Toga's eyes went wide in almost childlike confusion.

'What do you mean?'

'It was a copycat.'

Toga gasped, her giant scarf like sleeves flying over her mouth in surprise.

'No!' she exclaimed in a scandalous voice.

'Yeah. It's pretty embarrassing.' he admitted, 'I'm hunting for him right now, but it's a big city y'know?'

Toga nodded vigorously, 'I can imagine. Copycats!' she said, sneering, 'I can't stand them! So unoriginal and lame.'

'Yeah.' He took a deep breath. This was the difficult part, 'Speaking of which, I was sort of hoping to continue my search tonight. Do you know if Shigaraki needs me for anything? I'm kinda pressed for time right now, and if nothings happening then I might just go.'

Toga tittered and slapped his arm playfully.

'Hah! You should! He would be so pissed. But I wouldn't if I were you. I haven't been with the League for very long, but Shigaraki has a bit of a temper. And he's a little…' she twirled her hand as she considered her words. 'Petty.' she declared finally, 'If you snub him, I wouldn't be surprised if he asked me and the others to hunt you down ourselves.'

Izuku nodded resignedly. He had feared as much.

'Alright, I see your point. So, what're we waiting for then? Let's go.'

Toga blinked in surprise.

'Don't you want to hang out a little?' she asked in a hurt voice.

'It-its not a question of if I want to or not.' he said carefully, 'It's just that, I'm busy. I've got a copycat to hunt down. And besides…' he turned around and scanned the empty clubroom behind them, 'I've got a bad feeling about this place…'

She rolled her eyes. 'You're no fun.' she pouted as she pulled out her cell phone.

Toga finished her text message and let her coat drop to the floor. A few seconds later the strange purple mist reappeared with the ominous bartender Kurogiri stepping out of the fog behind the bar counter.

'Miss Toga, Mr. Spider-Man. Shall we?'

The pair nodded and the mist enveloped them.

* * *

In an instant, Izuku, Toga, and Kurogiri were gone leaving the empty club behind them. Or so they believed. As the mists receded back into whatever dimension they were home to, a long and low hiss of frustration sounded. Crawling around from behind the stage lights came the vague silhouette of a spider.

Falling down to the floor with a gentle thud, the Doppelganger stalked towards where his tantalizing prey and his companion had been sitting mere moments ago. Hopping over the bar counter, the mutant felt around with his senses, but it was no use. The other had disappeared and the trail had gone cold.

It had been so close! It knew that the other spider was special, it could feel his presence everywhere, setting his senses on fire. So far it had sampled many things since being birthed; but even with their blood fresh in its mouth they couldn’t compare to the salivating flavour that the other exuded. Just how much more intense would the taste be it finally had the Other’s flesh?

After rooting around for a moment, the Doppelganger rose and effortlessly leapt up to the ceiling. Next time it would be less hesitant to strike.

* * *

Izuku, Toga, and Kurogiri emerged in the same storeroom that Izuku had arrived in last week. However, Izuku immediately noticed a key difference. The horrible sense of doom that he had felt bearing down on him was greatly lessened. It was still there to be sure – a creeping sense of unease that he couldn't place – but at the moment, he felt practically carefree in comparison to how he felt back at The Den.

_What's going on? I'm in less danger in a villain's secret lair than in an empty nightclub?_

'If you would both follow me please. The others are waiting.'

He frowned to himself as Toga skipped on after Kurogiri. Was the nightclub a trap after all? He hadn't seen any heroes. And why would they wait for him to enter and talk with Toga? It was possible they were collecting information, but for some reason that didn't sit right with him.

'Hey, Spider-Man! You coming?' Toga shouted out from the hallway.

He pulled his head out of the clouds. He'd think about this later.

'Yes, I'm coming.'

Exiting out into the hallway, he followed Toga and Kurogiri into the bar. As they entered into the dining area, he saw several new faces that he didn't recognize either sitting at the bar counter or in the booths. From their appearances alone he could tell they were an odd bunch. For starters each one of them was wearing a proper costume, a rarity among the street trash he was used to fighting, and they had a certain confidence about them. Aside from the occasional mumbled word or glance at the static filled television that hung over the bar, nobody was doing much of anything. A few of them glanced at him in interest, but that was it.

He stood by the doorway for a moment wondering if he should introduce himself before Toga announced their arrival.

'Hello everyone!' Toga called loudly, waving happily to the room, 'My name is Toga and this is Spider-Man! Pleased to meet you.'

There were a few indistinct murmurings of greetings though one of the men, who was wearing a half black/half grey mask and a black bodysuit, sprang up from his chair.

'Spider-Man!' the man said with almost reverential fervour, 'I was hoping I'd meet you! I must say, you're a lot smaller than I expected, but that just makes you all the more impressive! My name is Twice. At your service, sir!' Twice said warmly, bowing.

That was the last thing he expected. In his experience criminals were rarely so forthcoming and friendly when they were introduced to each other.

'Th-Thanks. I-'

'He looks like a scrawny little dweeb to me.' Twice interrupted disdainfully, 'It seems the rumour mill exaggerated the newcomer. Again. All these fucking children! Is Shigaraki running a daycare or a criminal enterprise?'

Izuku's thanks was choked off.

As if reading his mind, Toga turned and faced Izuku. Crossing her eyes and sticking out her tongue she made a circular motion around her temple with her index finger. He sighed.

_Right. Makes sense with this lot._

If the grey and black man was insulted by Toga's rude gesture, he made no sign of it. Instead he turned to her and wiggled his finger mischievously.

'Toga! You little rascal. Delighted to see you again, darling. I must say you're looking as pretty as ever.' Toga blushed and giggled, 'Fucking slut. We'll see whose crazy...' Twice muttered darkly.

Izuku's mouth fell open at the bizarre behaviour on display. He was no psychologist, but he could tell that Twice was a certifiable whack job. Suddenly he found himself rethinking the whole "villain team up" thing.

'Hey, Spidey. C'mon, sit with the cool kids.' Toga said grabbing his arm and pulling him over to where Twice was standing.

Izuku’s weak protests were ignored by the girl who plopped him down between Twice and herself. To his chagrin. she immediately pulled out her phone and squeezed herself next to him.

'Say cheese!' she said merrily.

Twice immediately pushed himself up against Izuku, sandwiching him between the two.

'Cheese!' Twice and Toga cried.

'Cheese...' Izuku mumbled.

The camera flashed. Once Toga had taken a half dozen or so pictures she quickly flipped the phone around and scrolled through her album, smiling to herself.

'I'd post these to my Facebook page but they keep deleting my accounts.' she said confidentially to Izuku and Twice, 'It's such a pain.'

'You've probably been flagged for villainy or terrorism.' Izuku stated.

'Nope! Sexual content.'

'O-Oh? Hm.'

_Note to self: Investigate clues about Toga's origins on social media._

At that moment the door to the back room burst open and a massive muscle-bound man came strutting into the room. Beneath a shortly cut crop of blonde hair, his face was marred by a large scar where he had a glowing cybernetic eye. He wore a cocky grin as he surveyed everyone. His gaze rested on Izuku and his grin broadened slightly. He scowled as the man sneered at him. He recognized that look. Though he was wearing a mask, he locked eyes with the newcomer. He knew better than to ignore such an obvious challenge.

The exchange lasted only a second before the muscular blonde looked away. Turning to Shigaraki he spoke.

'Sorry for keeping everyone waiting.' the large man said gruffly, 'Well let's get this over with, I haven't got all night.'

Shigaraki stood while the newcomer navigated over to his own booth and filled it with his bulky frame.

'Alright,' Shigaraki started, 'now that everyone is here, let me officially welcome you all to the League of Villains. You represent the highest echelon of villains that Musutafu has to offer and to that end you've all been scouted to join a special team of elites that I'm calling the Vanguard Action Squad.'

The room broke out into murmurs. Izuku bobbed his head slightly from side to side before nodding.

_Vanguard Action Squad, huh? I've heard worse names._

'To put it bluntly, I've tried working with swarms of fodder, but against even moderately skilled heroes they're completely worthless. Instead, to accomplish my goals I've decided to utilize seasoned veterans. You've all had run ins with pros, and for what I have in mind that should be more than enough.'

Shigaraki started to scratch his neck absently as he looked around the room. His eyes rested on the static filled television screen hanging over the bar for a few moments before continuing his speech.

'I want to strike at the heart of All Might's legacy. Which begins with corrupting his message. I trust that you all watched the U.A. Sports Festival?'

Most of the gathered villains nodded and Shigaraki continued.

'Well there is one student in particular who's caught my eye.'

Izuku felt goosebumps erupt over his skin.

'His name is Katsuki Bakugo, the first-year champion. I'd like to abduct him, turn him to our cause. I think it can be accomplished, with a little persuasion of course.' He paused and a small smile broke out over his face. 'Can you imagine it? The gold medal winner, the rising star at U.A. turned from the heroic path, and corrupted. It's…perfect.'

'And how do you propose we nab him? U.A. is a fortress.' said a suited man with a top hat and a magicians mask.

'It has come to my attention that after the first term tests, U.A. is planning on sending its first-year hero students on a special weeklong retreat in the mountains for quirk training. They will be isolated and vulnerable there. With a carefully co-ordinated lightning strike, we can abduct Bakugo, kill whatever opposition we face, and then be gone before reinforcements show up.'

A few of the villains looked at each other as Shigaraki continued.

'I won't actually be participating in the mission myself, unfortunately. However, I will be sending one of my Nomu's to assist you. I promise that the Nomu will have sufficient power to be able to go toe-to-toe with any of the heroes. It will respond to the team leader's orders and act accordingly.'

'If you're not coming than who's the team leader?' asked the muscular man in the back.

Everyone went still for a second. Izuku noticed Toga cross her fingers.

'The team leader is…Dabi.'

Several people in the room scoffed and complained as a tall thin man stood up from his stool. He was covered in stitches and burn marks that looked intentionally patterned across his face.

'Thank you. I wouldn't have had it any other way to be honest with you.' Dabi said in a bored voice.

'Why aren't I the leader?' snarled a man in a full black bondage suit, his long teeth flashing, 'I'm an A-ranked villain! This boy is nothing but a punk! I've got the most experience!' Dabi looked over at him impassively, but before he could say anything the muscular man in the back spoke up.

'The most experience? Like hell you do, freakshow.' he said smirking, 'Besides, who cares who's in charge? Let's just move past this bullshit.'

'If anyone doubts my capabilities, I'd be happy to demonstrate my qualifications in person if need be.' Dabi said, gazing around the room before his eyes rested on Izuku. Internally Izuku groaned.

_Great, he's calling me out. Now if I don't say anything everybody's going to think I'm a wimp._

'Wait.' Izuku said, gently slapping the counter with both hands and standing up, 'Are you implying that if I beat you up then I can be the new leader? Is that what you're saying? Cause if so, bring it on burn ward. I'll give you some real scars, not that Halloween makeup you're wearing.'

The air in the room suddenly grew tense as everyone looked between the two. As Izuku stared into Dabi's cold, dead eyes he could have sworn he saw a tiny flicker of energy stir in them. Just as Dabi opened his mouth to speak, Shigaraki interrupted.

'No.' Shigaraki said sharply, 'My choice of leader is final. I didn't choose Dabi because he was the most powerful, but because he seems to be the most suited to command. Mustard and Spider-Man are both too young to lead-'

'Hey!' said a muffled voice. Izuku spotted the speaker as belonging to a boy in a gas mask and schoolboy's uniform who was perched on a too big barstool, 'I'm not that young!'

Izuku winced. The kid was obviously still in junior high.

_Jeez, do I sound like that?_

'-Toga and Twice are too crazy-'

'Yep!' Toga said happily as she and Twice exchanged a high five over Izuku's head.

'-Muscular and Moonfish are too aggressive-'

The man in the bondage suit snarled while the muscle-bound brute in the booth merely shrugged.

'-and Spinner, Mr. Compress, and Magne are just not field leadership material. You three have a propensity to overthink situations. As such I think you are more suited to following orders than giving them.'

A reptilian man with pink hair scowled at this, but the man in the top hat tipped his hat courteously while the woman beside him merely nodded. Evidently, they were perfectly fine with being followers. Izuku settled back in his chair and relaxed.

'Fine.' Izuku said, trying not to sound too relieved, 'I didn't want to be in charge anyway.'

Shigaraki appeared satisfied and continued.

'Good. The camp is scheduled for the first week of July, so we all have plenty of time to prepare. We'll be attacking at night so show up by 6:00 pm at the latest on Friday, July 6th. Hopefully after a week of training both the teachers and students will be too exhausted to put up much of a fight.'

'I have a question.' Izuku said, 'Let's say that Bakugo won't join us. What will we do then?'

'He will.' Shigaraki declared confidently, 'One way or the other, he will.'

He gulped. He didn't like the sound of that but he didn't dare ask for clarification. If he started asking a bunch of questions, he would be too suspicious.

_There is no way I'm going to let the League attack U.A. again and kidnap Kacchan, but I can't afford to appear overly concerned. I'll need to figure something out. God, I just hope nobody does anything crazy in the meantime._

Shigaraki surveyed the room for any more questions. When no one said anything, he returned to his booth.

'Alright, you have your orders. We will reconvene in a week to touch base. Make sure you keep your heads down and avoid unnecessary attention.'

With that the gathered villains began to stir. Some rose from their chairs and approached Kurogiri while others remained seated and resumed their conversations from before the meeting. With a great yawn, Toga stretched herself out and Izuku glanced over at her phone's clock in her outstretched hand.

_It's getting late. I should head on home and let Mom see me before I go out looking for my Doppelganger._

Standing, he tried to catch Kurogiri’s eye to request an exit portal, but before he could Shigaraki called out to him.

'Spider-Man, come here. I want to talk with you.'

He resisted the urge to groan. Ignoring the stares that some of the other villains were giving him, he dutifully walked over to the white-haired man's booth. Sitting down on the seat opposite, he couldn't help but feel like he was about to be chewed out.

'You've been keeping busy.' Shigaraki remarked offhandedly, 'As I recall the last time we spoke you had just finished your assault on the Glass Way Tower and earned the ire of every superhero in the city. As if that wasn't impressive enough, you've gone and broken into the most secure prison in the country.'

Izuku heard a distinct cold note in Shigaraki's voice that sounded almost like jealousy.

'Sorry to disappoint you, but the break out at Tartarus wasn't actually me.' Izuku said quickly.

Shigaraki stopped scratching his neck and narrowed his eyes.

'Explain.'

He quickly told him how someone had been impersonating him being careful to omit any mention of Dr. Akatani or quirk manifestation. Instead he attributed the attack to a maniacal fan of his desperate for fame. As he spoke he noticed that the other villains had quieted and appeared to be listening closely. When he at last finished, Shigaraki resumed scratching his throat.

'Interesting. What are you going to do about your stalker? If he gets wind of the League, he might start to interfere with my plans…'

'I'm going to take care of him as soon as I can.' Izuku promised earnestly, 'I just need to find him.'

'Hm. Try and be discreet. I don't mind you creating a little chaos, but my plan is rather sensitive. If the heroes start to follow you or, heaven forbid, capture you…well. I won't be very pleased.' Shigaraki said in an icy voice. It didn't take a genius to understand what he was implying.

He nodded fervently, 'Trust me, I know how to be inconspicuous. I'll take this guy down before Friday.'

'Good.'

Shigaraki picked up his tablet and he took the hint. Standing, he went over to Kurogiri who was having an animated conversation with Mustard about where he could be dropped off. While they negotiated, he tried to ignore the sneering brute Muscular, who was looming behind him.

_Weird._ Izuku thought as he felt his skin crawl from the menacing presence over his shoulder, _My spider-senses are practically on fire from the gorilla behind me, but it's still less intense than it was back at The Den. What's going on?_

As he considered the ramifications of this, Mustard finally seemed to have decided where he wanted to go and he disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke. Kurogiri turned to him expectantly and he got an idea.

'Hey, can you send me to the outskirts of the city? Anywhere will do as long as its remote.'

'Of course.' Kurogiri said, with a small polite bow.

The next thing Izuku knew he was being hurtled through space along the strange dimensional currents the enigmatic barman conjured.


	34. Predator and Prey

Stepping out from the mist, Izuku was momentarily shocked to find himself standing in a forested clearing. As jarring as the sudden entrance into nature was, it was hardly an untamed wilderness. The skies were filled with light pollution and in the distance, he could hear traffic. Wherever he was, he was near the city.

_Teleportation sure is useful. I have a feeling that dealing with that Kurogiri guy is going to be a pain._ He thought as he headed off in the direction of civilization.

Walking forward through some sparse shrubs and low hanging branches, he passed through the trees and climbed a rocky outcrop. Atop the cliff, Musutafu stretched out before him in all of its glass and steel glory, lights blazing brilliantly into the evening sky. But it wasn't the scenery that held his attention, but his thrumming spider-sense. As he had predicted, his spider-sense was almost completely silent. Yet there was something there; a faint hint of danger carried on the sea breeze.

_That has to be Doppelganger. Can he sense me too? If he has all my powers then it's a safe assumption I suppose._

A cold shiver ran up his spine as realization dawned on him.

_He's been hunting me! Back at the club he must've been virtually right on top of me! But if he could track me there, then would he follow me home?_

He bit his lip and swore softly. He couldn't bear the thought of putting his mother in danger, but she would be expecting him home soon. If he stayed out all night, she was sure to know something was up.

_Think, Deku, think._

As he considered his options, he suddenly felt his spider-sense flare up. Whirling around, he saw the purple mist coalescing into existence beside him.

'Argh!' he exclaimed in frustartion. _Now what?_

Jumping backwards into the shelter of a nearby boulder, Izuku crouched down and watched. Strutting out of the portal came the hulking form of Muscular. Thick arms swinging, his eyes scanned the wilderness surrounding him keenly. Licking his lips, he filled his lungs and opened his mouth. Izuku pre-emptively covered his ears before the man shouted:

'HELL-OOOOO! SPIDER-MAN! WHERE ARE YA?!'

His booming voice echoed throughout the cliffs and surrounding forest, sending up small flocks of startled birds fluttering to the skies. As Muscular continued to bellow his challenges to the mountains, Izuku let out a frustrated growl.

_What is with this guy? I can't afford to waste energy butting heads with this dope right now, I've got more important things to do!_

Izuku waited impatiently until Muscular eventually realized that his taunts would go unanswered. When it became clear that Spider-Man wasn't coming, Muscular spat and, grumbling darkly, journeyed up the cliffs away from the city.

_Finally! I've got a feeling I'll be seeing you again real soon, Mr. Roid Rage._

Crawling out from the cover of his boulder, he started to jog back to the city. As he ran, he thought about his current predicament.

_What am I going to do about Mom? As far as she knows, I'm hanging out with my "friends"._

Leaping across a small rocky creek and into the trees, he began to web swing his way through the forest back towards familiar territory. As he progressed, he kept imaging what he excuses he could give before he heard the faint sounds of voices coming in from beyond a row of trees up ahead. Curious, he lessened his pace and went in closer. Pressing his way softly through some pines, he could make out their words.

'Oh, I just don't know. What if one of those escaped villains stumbles across us?' A young woman said fearfully.

'Pffft!' came a scoffing reply from a brash young man's voice, 'You're worried? With my quirk protecting you? Rest easy, babe. Nobody would dare mess with me. I'm the captain of the baseball team!'

Izuku rolled his eyes. Swinging up into the taller tree branches, he looked down to see a young couple sitting in a parked cherry red convertible. The polished and gleaming car was situated precariously on the gravel shoulder of a winding, lonely road right along an overhanging cliff face looking out over Musutafu. It was quite the picturesque spot.

Izuku watched as the older boy let out an exaggerated yawn. As he did so he draped his arm over the girl's shoulder, pulling her closer.

'Oh, Ryu, we shouldn't.' she breathed as he leaned in, kissing her neck, 'My Mom told me I'd be grounded if I came home late again.'

'Just…just call her and say you're spending the night at Li's house.' The teen said, pulling back a bit, 'She'll never know…'

'Oh, Ryu…'

Izuku snapped his fingers.

_That's it!_

The girl pushed the eager teenage boy back in alarm at the sound.

'What was that? Is someone there?' she asked, looking over her shoulder towards the treeline.

The boy moaned, 'Oh, come on, Silke. Relax! There's nobody around for miles. It was probably just a tanuki.'

'Well…okay.' she said readily, turning back to him.

However, before they could lock lips the infamous criminal Spider-Man suddenly landed on the hood of the boy's car.

'Hahaha!' cackled Izuku, 'Two more flies have fallen in my web!'

'AHHHHHHH!' screeched the young couple.

The jock quickly threw his car into gear and reversed away. As they backed up, Izuku hopped off the hood and watched them flee. As soon as he was on the road, the white-faced teen jammed the gear into drive and floored the pedal. However as soon as he did so, the car stalled. Shuddering and gasping, the engine let out a feeble shuttering sound and died.

'Ryu! Ryu, start the car! Start the car!' the girl shrieked, 'He's coming closer!'

The jock looked up, eyes wide with terror at Izuku who was still standing where he had jumped off. Frantically, he worked the key into the ignition, but the engine wouldn't turn over. Instead there was just a low whining sound from the dead transmission. After a few seconds Izuku began to feel embarrassed for them.

'Ugh, you're hopeless dude.' Izuku said shaking his head, 'Here, I'm good with machines. Let me try…'

He started to walk forward but at the sight of his movement the girl screamed. In a move of desperation, the jock raised a closed fist over the windshield.

'TAKE THIS SPIDER-FREAK!'

Unclenching his fist, Izuku watched as the jock blew into his hand. As he did so a tiny black storm cloud crackling with blue electrical energy drifted out. Visually it was quite impressive but it was travelling at the speed of a slowly lobbed tennis ball and Izuku easily sidestepped past the slow-moving puff.

'Neato.' Izuku exclaimed in mild interest as he watched the cloud dissipate into nothing, 'Hey, if you can make clouds do you-'

Suddenly the engine started.

'HA!' shouted the boy in triumph, 'Eat my dust, arachno-chump!'

At that the car peeled off, tires screaming against the asphalt as the two lovers barreled down the road. Izuku looked after them in amusement. He didn't want to spoil their date, but with Muscular in the area he thought it best that they took their make out session elsewhere. Besides, even though tonight may be ruined, he was sure that the boy's bravery wouldn't go unrewarded for long.

'It was the least I could do.' Izuku muttered to himself as he pulled out his phone.

* * *

Back at the Midoriya apartment, Izuku's mother anxiously paced back and forth across her kitchen and living room. Every now and then she glanced at her clock, counting the seconds as the minutes rolled by.

'I should have never let him out tonight.' she fretted, 'What was I thinking? Tonight, of all nights.'

She felt guilty at herself for her being so controlling, but she couldn't help herself. Everything seemed to be moving so fast. Her once timid, homebody son had been fighting in tournaments, doing internships with professional heroes, and when he wasn't busy with his school activities he was locked away in his room.

'Oh, Izu…where are you?'

Suddenly the phone rang. With a yelp, she quickly scurried over to it and picked up.

'Hello?' she said breathlessly.

'Hi, Mom. It's me.'

'Izuku!' she said, smiling in relief, 'Where are you? Are you on the way home?'

There was a pause over the line.

'Um, well no. Not exactly. You see I was talking with my friends and they suggested that I stay the night over at one of their house's.' she felt her face go slack as her son kept talking, 'You know, the streets are so dangerous…I mean, they're not more dangerous than I told you but, uh, like,-'

She sighed. Her son had always been such a terrible liar.

'-they shut down the trains if you can believe that. They're saying its because of civil unrest. Well anyway, seeing as how I'm all the way across town…' he trailed off.

'Uh, n-no that's okay.’ she said resignedly, ‘Yes. I think that you staying put might be best. Um, call me in the morning okay?'

'Okay! Bye Mom.'

At that Izuku hung up and she lowered the phone back down to the receiver. Her mind was numb as she tried to process what he had told her.

_He's spending the night with friends?_

She sat heavily in one of her kitchen chairs. She didn't know how to feel. The only other experiences she had with motherhood outside her homelife were those few times when her and Mitsuki would talk while their sons played out in the Bakugo's backyard. It seemed like only yesterday that she was cuing up All Might clips for him to watch on YouTube and now he was out spending the night with friends.

Her sad musings were abruptly cast aside as a new, dreadful thought entered her mind.

_Is he staying at a boy's house or a girl's house?_

Her eyes went wide as she thought things through. Her son was shy, and awkward true, but he was at that age…and he was very handsome…and a celebrity…Thinking back on it, there was that one girl during the Sports Festival who couldn't keep her hands off of him. At the time she hadn't thought much of it, but what if…

She gasped.

Striding back over to the phone, she picked it up and dialed Izuku's number. However, before she completed the call, she stopped herself. Did she really want to embarrass him in front of his friends? Besides, even if he was at a girl's house, surely her parents would keep an eye on them.

Sighing, she hung up the phone and went over to the couch to watch some television. She would just have to trust him.

* * *

Hanging up his phone, Izuku allowed himself a self-indulgent smile before leaping off the roadside cliff to the forest below. As he plummeted, he thought about his next move. He had bought himself some time. Now he just had to fight an opponent who by all accounts was his superior in almost every way.

_According to Dr. Akatani whatever semblance of humanity Stain once had is now long gone. I'm sure he'll put up a hell of a fight. But, if Dr. Akatani is correct about his mental condition then I doubt Stain is capable of critical thinking. Plus I have my web-shooters, so I still have a mobility advantage._

Before he could hit the ground, Izuku shot a strand of webbing to a lone, young tree. Leveraging his speed, he slingshot himself over the remaining forest. Flying above the last few trees, he left the hilly wilderness and entered an upscale, suburban neighbourhood. Everywhere he looked he saw double car garages, dog houses, and outdoor pools. Compared to the grime of the city, it felt like he was in a separate country.

Landing on the roof of a large house, he was surprised to see a small group of adults enjoying some drinks in their backyard.

_If Stain is coming to me, then I should choose the battlefield carefully. Ideally, wherever we fight will need to be isolated from civilians, and take full advantage of my webs._

He rapidly considered his options. Fighting on top of a skyscraper? Too visible, heroes might intervene. Fighting in a large, enclosed space? Too limiting, he might get trapped and cornered.

After a few minutes of consideration, he had an idea. Jumping off from his rooftop perch, he started to run away from the suburbs and towards the freeway. He knew exactly where to he wanted to fight. Well, not exactly, but he could find what he was looking for.

* * *

After thirty or so minutes of travel, Izuku arrived at a sprawling electrical substation located in the industrial district of Musutafu. Stopping in the midst of capacitors, transmission towers, and rows of transformers he surveyed his chosen battlefield carefully.

There were many tall, interworking lattices of metal, perfect for web swinging or traps, in addition to dangerously thrumming cables and power lines just waiting to intercept an unwary jumper. As he inspected the rusting electrical infrastructure, he noticed an especially old series of transformers. For a major substation, the electrical systems looked dangerously decrepit.

Kicking a tiny piece of gravel at a transformer, he was startled by a sudden blasting arc of electricity that shot out from a loose section of panelling on the transformer chassis.

_How old is this place?_ He thought as he looked around at the electrical infrastructure with newfound trepidation.

Like most modern cities, Musutafu electrical needs were supplied by a variety of sources that were a mixture of ancient, pre-quirk era technology and modern quirk techniques. Although quirks were not permitted for use in daily life, work permits to use quirks was approved in certain fields where their usefulness could not be ignored. Afterall, it was far easier to supply steam to turbines if the electric company employed someone who could control fire then to haul in coal or pipe natural gas.

That wasn't to say that power plants were obsolete. Most of the city's power was still supplied by conventional technology, just that quirk power "tech" was on the rise. Some speculated that as more and more technology was replaced with quirks, there was a real danger of scientific regression across all of mankind as valuable technical knowledge was replaced with quirk techniques. Although records from the old, pre-quirk world were scarce following the Quirk Wars of the early 22nd century, it was known that humanity used to be capable of scientific feats that were out of reach of current society.

He suddenly felt his spider-sense surge again and he quickly focused back on the task at hand. Beyond the fenced off gravel lot that encircled the electrical station there were multistory corrugated steel warehouses and defunct brick factories of varying heights on all sides save for the entrance. Like the substation, they looked like they belonged from another time. Dozens of water towers peppered the sloping rooftops, their bulbous cylindrical tanks looking almost like heads peering into the yard.

_These buildings look like they've been abandoned for years. I shouldn't have to worry about any witnesses._

He switched his attention back to the substation. There were sure to be a few workers in the nearby maintenance buildings keeping an eye on things.

Running over to the central building, he saw a bored looking man in work coveralls pass by a window. Hopping up to the window ledge, he peered inside. There were three workers all clustered around a small table, chatting over their coffee.

Even though he knew he should be focusing, he couldn't help but remember his hero exercise at the power station with All Might a few weeks ago. He had been tasked with rescuing workers then too, though admittedly this was slightly different.

Shaking his head clear, he burst through the window and landed before the astonished workers, there mouths dropping open in surprise. Before they could even process what was happening, he had already ensnared them in webs.

* * *

After stashing the cocooned workers in a distant warehouse, Izuku returned to the electrical yard and looked around to see if there was anything else he could do. His spider-sense was starting to build up again and every nerve in his body was telling him that he was in imminent danger. His instincts told him to run, but he couldn't. If he ran tonight the creature would just hunt him down later, all the while satisfying its monstrous appetite on the people in Musutafu. For better or for worse, he would need to face Dr. Akatani's abomination now before anyone else got hurt.

As he inspected the metal lattices surrounding the yard, he suddenly felt an odd surge run up his spine. Though he couldn't see it, he sensed that there was something hiding between the rows and rows of transformers. As faint as the slight breeze in the air, he heard a scuffling sound against the metallic boxes. It was coming closer.

Without waiting to be tackled by an abhuman lunatic, he jumped and swung up into the crisscrossing beams of one of the many transmission towers that filled the air over the yard. Alighting himself on a metal strut, he looked down just in time to see a long, curved limb disappear from view behind a transformer box.

'I-I know your there!' he shouted, surprised at the fear he heard in his voice. 'Don't tell me your extra spider bits have made you shy now, Stain.'

He held his breath. Everything seemed to fall silent around him as he stared at the row of ugly grey transformers. His heart was pounding in his ears, but he could just barely hear the sound of crunching gravel in the yard.

Before he could decide whether or not he should reposition himself, the monstrous body of his more evolved counterpart abruptly stepped out into the open. Even though he had been mentally preparing himself, just seeing the Doppelganger in person made his blood run cold. Wrapped around the creature’s long, lithe torso were four extra arms, their biceps curling around his back connected shoulders giving him an oddly humpbacked appearance. Logically such extra appendages should be ungainly, but he recognized the graceful movements of his freakish double. He had no doubt that the Doppelganger had grown accustomed to its new form. Besides its arms, its legs were massive and bulging with muscle hinting at its terrific strength. Considering his own strength, Izuku could only imagine the sort of strength they must possess. But worst of all was his face. A leering skull with six eyes and jagged, red-stained teeth.

The creature that was Stain brought itself up to its full height and opened his dagger filled mouth. It let out a long and low hiss. The terrible rattling sound echoed around the yard and sent a paralytic wave of terror through Izuku, numbing his mind as the primordial core of his being was awakened. For a moment he had hoped that he could reason with Stain, try and reconnect with his inner humanity, but he realized now how foolish that would be. His only options were fight or flee; run or die.

Before he could do anything else, the Doppelganger jumped at him with its mouth agape and its great tongue lolling hungrily for blood. Shocked at its speed, Izuku automatically hopped back to the struts behind him while pre-emptively fired a string of webbing towards the ledge where the Doppelganger would appear, but it had somehow anticipated this. Twisting its body in midair, the monster caught the edge of the metal beam with one of his back jointed arms and threw himself to the tower's mast. Then in a great burst of strength it leapt out from the tower with a devastating kick.

Only through the keenest of movements was Izuku able to dodge the blow. Rolling back his shoulder while dropping his knees, he allowed himself to slip backwards down the strut, before gripping it with his feet. Now hanging upside down, he watched as Doppelganger's momentum carried it across the fifty-metre length of the yard to a neighbouring transmission tower. Upon impact, Doppelganger’s foot impacted the steel hard enough to rattle the entire frame. Izuku's eyes bulged at the implications of such a feat.

_What was that kick!? If I'm going to survive then there's no way I can let myself get locked down in a fist fight. I need to immobilize him._

Taking aim with his web-shooters, he unleashed a volley combining both longer strands of webbing and small blotted shots of balled web solution. However, Doppelganger was unfazed. Crouching and weaving, he dodged around every shot as he hopped from beam to beam.

Izuku felt himself start to slip back into panic as his barrage failed to connect. The Doppelganger wasn’t even slowing down. While he desperately unleashed his webbing, a swell of doubt began cutting through him like a knife as an increasingly obvious realization battered down his confidence, repeating over and over in his mind.

_I can’t hit him, his spider-sense is better than mine. I can’t hit him, his spider-sense is better than mine. I can’t…I can’t!_

Doppelganger had almost crossed the yard. In a final desperate bid to gain control, he canceled his attack and waited for the Doppelganger to leap the final stretch of beams to where he stood. Mouth open in a silent snarl, it jumped, two of its long arms spread wide ready to catch him.

As Doppelganger flew through the air, he sprang his trap. Taking aim at the lattice of beams between them, he sprayed a crisscrossing mesh of webbing forming a net between himself and Doppelganger. There was nowhere Doppelganger could go. Its momentum would carry it straight into the web.

But his plan failed.

In an unbelievable display of agility that bordered on the impossible, the Doppelganger twisted mid-flight. Tucking in its body like a torpedo it slipped between the gaps of his web before hitting the beam directly in front of him.

Now standing directly before him, Izuku looked on in horror as the monster towered over him. Raising two of its arms above its head, it curled its talon tipped fingers into fists in preparation for what could only be a devastating smash.

Izuku hands flew up to protect himself, but the attack didn’t land. Instead his own spider-sense screamed at him and he knew he had just made a terrible mistake.

While his hands were raised over his shoulders to shield himself, there was nothing protecting his torso. The Doppelganger had a trap of its own. Suddenly unfurling its other four arms, it swiped. With a terrible ripping sound, the Doppelganger's razor tipped claws sliced through his spider-suit and carved through flesh and muscle like a razor blade through water.

In an explosion of blood, Izuku opened his mouth in a soundless gasp as four hands bearing twenty talons dug into his stomach and chest. Suddenly overcome with vertigo, his eyes rolled back in his head. Losing his footing, he released his grip on the strut and dropped from the transmission tower. As he fell, it was all he could do but to focus eyes back on the Doppelganger's skull-like face who watched with mild interest as he plummeted to the ground below.

With a soft thump he landed in the graveled pit around the electrical grid's capacitors. Working his lungs, he struggled to breath. His mouth felt like it was filled with blood. Before he could do anything, the Doppelganger fell after him. Landing with its legs between Izuku, it knelt and unfurled its long tongue. He watched in horror as it snaked its way towards his bloody stomach. The Doppelganger let out an awful, gargling sound of eager anticipation as its twitching tongue drew closer and closer.

Mustering the last of his strength, Izuku focused everything he had in one sudden action. Hands a blur even to him, he reached up and, grabbing the Doppelganger by his head and chin, slammed the monster’s jaws shut.

The eager warbled words turned into a guttural screech of pain and rage as the Doppelganger jerked its head free. Its tongue, now severed, fell from its mouth and landed twitching to the ground. He knew this was his chance. Kicking his legs, he attempted to retreat, but before he could move more than an inch the Doppelganger snatched his ankle in a bone shattering grip.

Lowering his head back down, the Doppelganger opened its blood-filled mouth and let out a roar, red teeth gnashing mere inches from Izuku's face.

'H-Hey man. With a tongue like that, it was gonna happen eventually. Heh. Heh.’ he wheezed.

Standing, Doppelganger pivoted on its hips and threw him by the leg. Tumbling through the air at breakneck speed between the rows of transformers, he came to an excruciating skidding and rolling stop. Briefly he tried to rise, but he quickly flopped uselessly back to the ground. If it weren't for the splintering pain in his ankle, he would have assumed that he was paralyzed but the truth was he was bleeding out and his consciousness was fading fast.

Vaguely he was aware of being at the edge of the substation yard. Rolling his head around, he could make out strangely warped towers with long stretching limbs that seemed to twist around him. Blinking, he raised his hands up to his face and stared at them dumbfounded before looking over at a nearby rooftop lined with oddly shaped wooden huts on stilts. The only thing keeping him from passing out was the pain in his chest, but even that was ebbing away. From down the row he could make out some skittering shape coming closer, something raining blood down itself, but all he could think about was how dry his mouth was.

Dropping his hand down to his chest, his head fell to his shoulder. Looking up, his eyes rested on the huts above.

'Weird…things…for an electric…station …’ he muttered.

Flexing his wrist, he fired a strand of webbing at the base of one of the huts. Gripping the chord, he pulled. At first there was resistance but it quickly vanished. A tiny bit of corroded support holding up the odd little hut sprung free and slowly it started to tilt over.

* * *

The Doppelganger rocked back and forth, cradling its head in its arms and mewling to itself piteously. Its mind was wracked with pain as it chewed at the now stump in its mouth. Everything it could taste, all the exotic flavours in the air, the fear and anger, all the emotion filled spices were gone.

Shifting its six eyes down it focused on the Other and an unfamiliar feeling overcame it. Merely killing its prey wouldn’t be enough. Bearing its fangs, it stalked towards the fallen adolescent. Gravel crunching beneath its feet, it grew closer and closer to the end of the row of metal boxes where it had thrown its prey.

The Other was finished. Barely able to move, the weakling could only flop around and wait to be devoured. At the thought of eating again the Doppelganger experienced another intense flash of loss. For the past few hours while it was tracking the Other across the biped hive, it had tasted such an incredible flavour. So much energy and adrenaline. But now, that was lost to him forever.

Growling, it quickened its pace. Surely, it could still taste something.

Suddenly a strand of silk launched from its prey and attached to one of the sloshing tanks surrounding the metal forest. Pulling, the Other was able to dislodge one of the support's at the base of the tank and it began to fall.

As the tank slowly came loose and began to topple over, the Doppelganger had an odd sense of awareness come over him. There was danger. Confused, its eyes expanded in their sockets, looking in every direction, but it saw no threat.

The giant falling thing wouldn't hit him. Even as it fell it was collapsing and would explode on the boxes. The boxes it was standing between were death, it knew that. But they couldn't move and even if they could, so long as it gripped them where they were cool, it was safe. Was the metal above the threat? It could tell that they were death too, but it would never be so clumsy as to touch them. What was going on? Why did it suddenly feel afraid?

As Doppelganger hesitated to move, the fifty thousand litre water tank smashed into the first row of capacitors, instantly causing the entire bank to explode as years of neglect finally reaped their toll. While the first bank exploded, the sweeping wave of water was instantly energized, immediately overwhelming the surrounding capacitors resistances and cascading the explosion even further.

Before the Doppelganger could realize its peril, the water began rushing in on all sides. Jumping backwards, it tried to retreat but found more of the metal boxes blocking him. Eyes whirling, it took in every direction but all it could see were sparks, flames, and water. Not comprehending, it simply stopped. Perhaps the threat would pass? So long as it gripped the metal where it was cool, it would be safe.

While it waited for its chance, the Other stirred. It watched with a strange, almost longing fascination as its prey swung himself up to one of the metal trees above. It attempted to climb up the strand, but after struggling for a moment he stopped and just hung there, a small distance away, ready to be eaten. Its behaviour was puzzling to him. Wasn't it already dead? Why continue?

At that moment the waist high wave of water reached its refuge. Recoiling back, Doppelganger leapt up on the cold part of the metal box. However, as the water lapped up the box's side, it suddenly felt a strange sensation. Pushing its senses to the limit, it became aware of the metal changing somehow. Inside the box, things were breaking, cracking and expanding. A different sort of current emerged. One going where the metal was cold, the other where the metal was hot.

Faster than it could realize the whole box became hot. Suddenly unable to move, the current began flowing up and through its legs, spreading along its veins and through the rest of its body. Everywhere the current touched there was a numbness, then nothing. It was strange, it thought as its vision faded, sensing nothing.


	35. Dreams

Eyes pressed tightly shut, Izuku clung to the strand of webbing for dear life as the world around him exploded. He didn't fully realize what was happening, but he knew that if he let go, he would die.

So he held on.

Occasionally a flying metal splinter would graze his body or some molten slag would land against his skin causing him to shout out, but he wouldn't let go. He couldn't just let himself succumb. Eventually the bright lights behind his eyelids faded and he opened his eyes.

He saw he was hanging mere metres above the flaming wreckage of the electrical substation, swaying back and forth mere feet away from certain death. Fountains of sparks and orange flames were erupting from the destroyed capacitors causing the water-soaked ground below to hiss and bubble from the heat. Behind him, the remaining capacitors in the yard were exploding but he didn't have the energy to worry about that right now. He needed to staunch his bleeding.

Peeling back his shredded suit with his free hand, he tried his hardest to concentrate while he inspected his chest. What he saw wasn't pretty. Great flaps of skin were hanging off of his stomach, and the underlying muscle was exposed. He couldn't say how long he had, but considering that his legs felt like they were drenched in blood, he figured he didn't have long before he passed out and fell into the electric hell below him - assuming the heat didn’t get him first.

Pressing his spare hand down on his largest wound, he desperately looked around for an escape option. There was nothing above him to climb to and even if he could he suspected that the only thing keeping him from getting fried like a mosquito in a bug zapper was his electrically insulated web. If he so much as even touched the metal around him, he'd be toasted. There were plenty of buildings in range, but he was too close to the ground. If he tried swinging towards them, he'd touch the water and bye-bye Spidey. He could cocoon himself, but even half dead from blood loss he knew that was a stupid idea. He'd basically be giftwrapping himself for the cops.

There was only one thing he could do. Arching himself backward, he swung out his legs. The movement created a small ripple on the strand and he moved forward slightly. Swinging himself backward, he repeated the motion only in reverse. Repeating, he slowly but steadily built up his momentum. The first few swings nearly caused him to faint from the effort but as he got faster, the effort became easier. Soon he was swinging fully back and forward, very nearly touching the sparking electrical apparatus around him.

Gritting his teeth, he braced himself for the next step. Once he was convinced, he had reached the highest potential energy possible, he waited for his speed to gather and just as his swinging carried him up, he released the strand and went catapulting forward.

Flipping through the air, he fired twin strands of web from both of his shooters at the closest building in front of him. Latching on to the brick ledge of the roof, he pulled as hard as he could to accelerate himself forward. Despite his waning strength, he was able to pull hard enough that his body flung over to the ledge of the building. Hitting his chest against the wall, he was dimly aware of a flare up of pain but he ignored it. Instead he focused on just pulling himself up.

Flopping over the brick roof ledge, he collapsed down on the tarred rooftop and lay there panting. Breathing deeply, he struggled to swallow but his mouth was so dry he could only flex his throat painfully. After what felt like a few seconds of just laying there, he turned and began to crawl away from the firestorm.

He might have escaped the yard, but he'd be dead soon without medical assistance. Fumbling for his pocket, he retrieved his phone.

_I need to find a clinic, fast! Do a smash and grab for some blood bags and gauze. Doesn’t have to be pretty or complicated, I just need to stop the bleeding._

However, try as he might, he couldn't reactivate his phone. After mashing the power button a few times and blinking in dimwitted confusion, he let out a low groan.

_The electric fields from the…thing or whatever must have fried my battery. Now what do I do?_

Slouching over, he tried his hardest to think, but it was taking almost all of his brainpower just to stay conscious, let alone come up with an exit strategy. After a few seconds, he hauled himself back to his feet.

_If I can't go to the hospital, I'll bring the hospital to me. I just…need to hold on for a little while longer…_

Stumbling forward, he inched across the rooftop away from the inferno. Sliding down the building wall, he headed for a darkened alley and waited.

* * *

The three paramedics rode in tense silence as their ambulance raced along the freeway behind the convoy of firetrucks and police cruisers. As they drove, cars dutifully pulled off to the shoulder of the highway to allow them past but it was still slow going. Several people had parked their cars on the side of the road and had crowded along the concrete divider overlooking the city to get a better view of the massive blaze in the distance.

The ambulance crew was less enthused. They had been on high alert for the last sixteen hours and had seen enough destruction to last a lifetime. Following the breakout at Tartarus they had driven from disaster to disaster, hauling the wounded to the hospital as every psycho in the city seemed to have decided that tonight was the night to cut loose.

Glancing over the dash, the driver of the ambulance felt a bead of sweat roll down his face as he saw the enormous column of smoke and flame rising in the distance. At that moment there was another explosion in the yard and his co-driver swore softly. Electrical fires were dangerous at the best of times, let alone at night in the middle of a crisis.

Switching his attention back to the freeway, the ambulance driver's eyes widened. Slamming on the breaks, he narrowly avoided colliding with the firetruck in front of him. His fellow paramedics said nothing as he turned and followed the firetruck around a car that had broken down in the middle of the lane. He couldn't afford to let his mind wander now. No matter how tired he was, he needed to focus.

Taking an exit, the emergency response vehicles rapidly picked up speed as they entered the thankfully clear road leading to the electrical substation. All of the surrounding buildings were warehouses and light industry so hopefully they were empty in case the fire spread. As he sped down the road, the dash mounted radio suddenly crackled to life.

'EMS Eleven respond.'

The driver’s co-pilot grabbed the corded radio head.

'Receiving.'

'EMS Eleven, possible mass causality at electrical station. Company confirms three workers present at site, over.'

'Understood dispatch. Eleven out.'

As his co-pilot returned the receiver to its cradle, the paramedic riding in the back seat let out a snort of frustration.

'Three confirmed? They should've sent two cars. What is dispatch thinking?' he muttered angrily.

Neither the driver or his co-pilot responded. Truth was, every other ambulance was busy with another emergency and they all knew that, he was just venting. But that didn't stop him from being right. They _would_ need two cars. If there were too many wounded, they'd likely have to rely on the police or fire department for additional transportation, which certainly wouldn’t help them treat any injuries.

Blowing past the remaining few blocks, the ambulance came to a screeching halt as the convoy stopped. They had arrived. While his fellows moved to the back to ready their gear, the driver toggled the radio and contacted dispatch.

'Dispatch, this is Eleven. We're at the station.'

'Copy. Be advised there are no heroes on site and villain activity has been reported in the area. I repeat: site unsafe.'

The driver heard the other two paramedics stop packing and he swore. There was supposed to be a pro here already! How could they evacuate the wounded if the guy who destroyed the place was still hanging around? They didn't have time for this!

'Uh, understood. Stand-by dispatch.'

He looked back at his two partners. His co-pilot nodded and the other threw up his hands in frustration.

'Fuck it.' he said, 'We're here, aren't we?'

The driver nodded and turned back to his radio.

'Dispatch, Eleven will proceed with search and rescue. Stand-by for casualty report.'

'Understood, Eleven. Good luck.'

At that the three grabbed their medical bags and a collapsible stretcher each and ran out the back. Coming around the firetrucks, the paramedics moved to join the police and firemen who had gathered by the chain link gate. A few dozen metres away, the power station was still exploding. Twisted scraps of flaming wreckage covered the yard and gouts of flame were shooting fireballs far overhead. Even from as far away as they were the heat was blistering and soon everyone was covered in sweat.

'Any sign of the wounded?' bellowed the driver to a police sergeant.

'No.' barked the cop, 'If there are any, they're in there.' he said, pointing into the blaze.

Shielding their eyes, the paramedics squinted to where the cop was pointing. Just barely he could make out cluster of steel corrugated shacks. White hot flames were pouring out their warped windows as they buckled from the intense heat. Face burning, the driver covered himself and looked away.

Maybe dispatch was right to just send one car. If the workers were still in there, then they were long past saving.

By this point the firemen had managed to get their equipment ready and were advancing towards the gate. Getting out of their way, the paramedics retreated back to the vehicles. Before any of them could decide what to do, a voice suddenly shouted at them from the side.

'Yo, we found those workers! Yo!'

Turning they looked over to another policeman who was flagging them over. Grabbing their gear, they rushed over to him.

'We found those maintenance guys. They're trapped in some sort 'a goo.' said the cop.

'Where?'

'That building.' the cop said pointing over his shoulder with his thumb, 'You might need some help getting to 'em, but they're alive.'

Without wasting another second, they rushed over. Entering, they soon found three wriggling masses of white substance stuck to the side of the wall. Setting down their equipment, the three paramedics, approached the men cautiously. They didn't know what the white stuff encasing them was, but it was safe to assume that it was quirk related and when it came to quirks you always had to be careful.

'Hey! This is emergency medical services! Can you hear me?' shouted one of the paramedics next to one of the ensnared men.

'MmmHmmmMMMMmm!' came a muffled reply.

'Damn! They're completely covered up! Get out your knife. We need to cut this stuff off before they suffocate!'

Reaching into their bags, each of them started slicing and picking at the gooey wrapping with their knives, but it was no use. The stuff was too sticky and their blades kept getting stuck. Just as they were about to give up, a group of firemen entered.

'Hey! Can you guys cut this stuff?' called out the driver, 'Our knives won't work!'

'We can try.'

Moving in. The firemen tried their own cutting tools but they had as much success as the paramedics. Finally, one of the firemen pulled out a sharpened metal breathing tube designed to puncture through walls to release smoke. By carefully working it around the goo, the fireman was able to create a small hole through which appeared a man's mouth.

'Gah!' shouted the trapped man, 'What's going on?'

'We're with emergency response. You're in a warehouse. We found you stuck in this white coating. Are you injured?' said one of the paramedics.

'What? W-Warehouse? I-I, uh, no I'm not injured. I don't think so anyway.' said the man.

'Do you work for the power company at the electrical substation?' asked one of the firemen.

'Yeah. Me and my two buddies are the nightshift maintenance crew.'

The paramedics and firemen exchanged relieved looks. With the exception of whoever started the fire, everyone was accounted for.

'Listen: there's been a fire at the substation. Do you know what might have caused it?'

'Beats me.' said the trapped man, 'I didn't see anything. The last thing I remember was fucking Spider-Man bursting through the goddamn window and covering me in this…stuff.'

At the mention of Spider-Man everyone grew tense once more. What if he was still in the area?

'Here, you guys stay here and try and get them free.' said the driver, 'I'm going to call this in.'

'You got it.'

After informing the police sergeant that Spider-Man was in the area the driver returned to his ambulance. As he approached the rear of his van, he noticed that the door to the back was wide open. Unless you were actively moving or treating a patient the door was supposed to be kept closed. There were a lot of junkies in Musutafu and an unattended ambulance was a prime target for someone looking to score some painkillers. With a sigh, he slammed it shut before hustling to the cab. Climbing in, he grabbed his radio.

'Dispatch this is Eleven. The electrical workers have been located. They appear uninjured, but claim they were attacked by Spider-Man. Requesting hero back up.'

'Understood Eleven. I'll see who's available, but don't hold your breath.'

The paramedic sighed again.

'Understood dispatch. Eleven out.'

Taking a deep breath, the paramedic looked through his left sideview mirror back at the fire. All things considered maybe he had gotten lucky. Assuming Spider-Man wasn't still skulking around that is. After taking a moment to have a drink of water he hopped out the cab. Turning, he started to walk back to the warehouse when he suddenly noticed the rear to the ambulance was slightly ajar.

'What the hell…?' he murmured.

Walking back around the doors, he flung them wide. He swore at what he saw. All of the cabinet doors in the medical deck were open and miscellaneous medical supplies lay strewn across the floor where someone had no doubt been searching. Face drawn, the paramedic entered the ambulance and went to the pharmacy. The metal latch securing their drugs had been snapped. Resignedly opening the drawer, he saw that everything was missing. They’d only been on site for a few minutes and they’d been picked clean.

Groaning, he rested his head against his arm. Dispatch would not be pleased.

* * *

While the paramedic was busy trying to explain how his ambulance got raided, Izuku was hunched over in the cleaning closet of a textile factory a few blocks away; wrapping his torso in gauze while an IV that he had jury rigged to a mop handle drip fed him blood. Despite feeling like he had been wrung out until he was ripped open, at least he was feeling much more aware – even if that did mean he felt terrible.

_I think that's good enough._ He thought, running a hand down his now bandaged midsection. _Hopefully my regeneration can handle the rest. Now, how about a little pick me up?_

He turned his head to the treasure trove of drugs he had snatched from the back of the ambulance. There were pain killers galore, but he wasn't sure how to dose himself. Were four milligrams of hydromorphine too much? Too little?

After hemming and hawing for a minute or two, he settled on just taking antibiotics. His bandages were supposed to be antiseptic, but he didn't trust Doppelganger to not have some weird disease.

He grimaced at the thought of Stain.

_I'm pretty sure he's dead. He…he must be dead, right? He fell back into the electrical boxes just as they blew up._

He felt an upwelling of guilt and he quickly shook his head. Killing Stain had been the right thing to do. It had to be. Stain had become an unthinking monster. If it had been him, he would have welcomed death happily.

_If Dr. Akatani had his way, or if the transformation had gone differently, maybe someone would have been forced to put me down. Hell, what am I talking about "forced"? It's not like I did it on purpose. The fact that I'm not BBQ myself or being digested right now is a miracle._

However, despite his justifications he still felt guilty. No matter how he sliced it, he had killed someone. After a few minutes of solemn consideration, he noticed that the blood bag was empty. Unhooking himself, he took his left-over medical supplies and tossed them in a garbage bag. Picking it up on his way out, he snuck back to the employee lockers and stole a loose-fitting jacket to cover himself with before heading back out into the streets. Tossing the bag of drugs in a nearby dumpster, he considered where he could crash until sunup.

* * *

While Izuku searched for a bridge to spend the rest of the night under, a lone boat was slowly making its way out of Musutafu Bay. To the untrained eye it appeared to be no different then any number of the other watercraft leaving or entering the harbour, but this was no ordinary vessel.

For starters, it was heading out to sea without proper clearance from the harbour master. Such a transgression would normally result in the vessel being unable to leave port, however at the moment the harbour master was sitting at his desk with his throat slit and was in no condition to police the waterway. Even so, the boat should have been detected by coastal radar and left to the coast guard, yet the radar array had been unfortunately sabotaged mere moments ago. With the authorities preoccupied trying to direct the freighter traffic, and no available ships to intercept them, the tiny boat was able to slowly sail away from Musutafu and carry its passengers to freedom.

This was all to the exacting plan of the vessel's self-appointed captain who stood scowling at the helm, glaring at the distant coastline. Physically, the man was unimpressive. Short, paunchy, and with thick glasses, he appeared to be just an ordinary man, definitely not someone you would expect to be a supervillain. While he stood there in silence, a lanky black-haired man entered the cabin and hailed him.

'Well Doc, looks like your plan payed off. Lighten up, huh? We're free!' he said, grinning broadly.

'I will "lighten up" once we are at the safe house. Return to your station and monitor the area for outgoing radio signals.' barked the squat man without turning.

The black-haired man rolled his eyes. Spotting a pack of cigarettes tucked into a small tray on a table, he stepped across the tiny room and grabbed the pack. Plucking one out, he put the cigarette to his lips which immediately lit itself. Drawing deeply, the man held the smoke for a second before exhaling with relish. As the smoke reached him, the captain's scowl deepened but he said nothing while the black-haired man behind him continued smoking.

'Yep.' said the man, cheerfully, 'Tell you what, after spending four years in a rubberized, insulated cell it feels good to be out and about. To feel the air on your skin-'

The captain let out an annoyed scoff and turned.

'Your amorous musings of being a free man are wasted on me, Dillion. And I would question the validity of any such statement while we are being pursued. Further, I-'

At that moment the door opened again and a third man squeezed into the cabin. Standing at over six and a half feet tall, the large, muscle bound man towered over the other two and would have been quite imposing were he not clutching his stomach in distress. In one step he crossed the tiny cabin and over to a bench against the wall. Puffing loudly, he sat and looked over at the captain.

'Doc, why'd we have to take a boat? Why a boat?' he said queasily, 'All this rocking and sloshing– It isn't natural!'

The captain rolled his eyes. Turning away from him, he went back to guiding the wheel.

'I understand your reluctance to stray too far from land, Mr. Baker. However, this is the only means of escape that I was able to source from Herman. I realize the accommodations are not spacious, but they are only temporary I assure you. Herman guaranteed me that once he is able to establish contact with some of the old elements of his organization, we will have additional resources at our disposal.'

'Some criminal empire.' snorted Dillion, 'He controlled all of Musutafu and he didn't even have _one_ escape route? If it were me, I'd have a yacht with a full bar, babes, and a mountain of cash, ready to go!'

The captain let out a disappointed sigh at his subordinate's stupidity, 'If we'd tried to be so conspicuous, we would have been caught in minutes. Think! Modest though it may be, this vessel is sufficient for our immediate purposes and is adequately nondescript. We must exercise discretion, or would you prefer to end up like our comrade Sytsevich?'

Dillion said nothing. After the six of them had escaped from Tartarus, Sytsevich had decided to run off and enjoy himself for a while instead of following the plan and they had been forced to leave the giant lummox behind. Later while eavesdropping on the radio waves over the city, he had intercepted a communication from All Might saying he had taken him out. Sytsevich may be built like a rhino, but he was also about as smart as one.

'We going to rescue him?' Baker asked in a surprisingly concerned voice.

'Perhaps.' said the captain coldly, 'If it is convenient. Once our notoriety has lessened and we can re-establish ourselves in Musutafu, I will worry about recruitment. For now, our small number lends us a distinct advantage.'

'Hm. If we're returning to Musutafu then that means we'll need to contend with Spider-Man.' Dillion said thoughtfully, 'Once he learns that Herman is back in town, he probably won't just sit on his hands.'

'We will deal with him when the time comes. He stands no chance against the Sinister Six.'

'Five without Rhino.'

'Yes, yes, I…' suddenly the captain went silent. Whirling around he faced his two men, a furious look on his face.

'Idiots!' he shouted and the two snapped up, 'Why are you not at your stations?! Go! Go, you miserable lumps! Is my genius labouring for nothing?! Must I always be burdened by your pitiful intellect?! Simple instructions! I give you such simple instructions, yet-‘

Before he could continue his rant, the two men turned and fled out the cabin. He stared after them for a moment before turning back to the ship's wheel. As he navigated out towards the open sea, he began to lightly tap his finger against the steering wheel.

It didn't feel right. Fleeing his hometown like he was, but he had no choice. He needed to rebuild, reacquire resources, form strategic partnerships, and infiltrate the social landscape before returning to Musutafu. But he would be back. He promised the courts when he was sentenced to that hellhole that he would be back, and Dr. Otto Octavius always kept his promises.

* * *

Several hours later, Izuku awoke beneath the bridge he was curled up under to a trickle of dust falling on his mask from the rumbling traffic above. Yawning deeply, his yawn quickly turned to a groan of pain as his stomach tensed up. Reaching underneath his suit, he felt around his bandages but he couldn't say whether his injuries were better or worse.

Standing upside down, he looked out over the water and towards the city. Judging by the sun, it was probably nearing midmorning and his mother would be expecting him home soon.

As he clambered across the steel beams that intersected the bottom half of the bridge, he wondered how he would approach his mother with his injuries this time.

_Maybe it would be better if I didn't say anything and just hope for the best. So long as she doesn't see my bandages, I should be okay._

Climbing between two girders, the too large jacket that he had taken from the textile factory suddenly got snagged on a loose rivet. With a sigh, he ripped the hem loose before continuing.

_I'll need to get some new clothes before I head home. Mom'll probably ask questions if I show up wearing some random, giant, cigarette stinking, windbreaker._

Reaching the end of the bridge, he hopped down to the trash covered embankment next to the water's edge.

‘Oof!’ he exclaimed as he hit the ground. Even though he’d only fallen a few stories, his legs very nearly collapsed from the pain in his stomach.

_Damn! I knew I should have taken some painkillers! Fuuuuck…_

Regaining his bearings he scaled the trash covered embankment towards the street and waited. Once there was a break in traffic, he hobbled as quickly as he could across the road and into an alleyway that ran behind a row of small shops. He'd left his hoodie, pants, and shoes stashed by Dr. Akatani's hotel all the way on the other side of town and he'd need some fresh clothes before he went anywhere.

Walking through the alleyway, he came upon the rear door of a small clothing store. Glancing around, he nonchalantly leaned up against the door and listened. There were a pair of employees inside listening to the radio as they prepared to open for the day, but that was it.

_This shouldn't be too hard. I'll just grab some pants, a hoodie, and a pair of shoes and be on my way._

One by one, he gripped the bolts securing the door to its frame and popped them off. Once the door was free, he propped it against the wall before entering.

Sneaking past a few cardboard boxes of loosely piled merchandise, he tiptoed through a curtained off doorway and into the store proper. As he entered, he spotted the two employees he had overheard standing by the store windows dressing the mannequins. Slipping between the aisles, he gave them a wide berth as his eyes darted over the labels.

_Doesn't have to be anything fancy, just enough to get by…let's see…_

As he quickly checked through a rack of hoodie's, the employee's conversation continued unabated.

'Did your power go out last night?'

'Yep. My alarm clock didn't go off and I almost overslept. You?'

'Mmhmm, my computer shorted out while I was doing my homework. Come Monday, I'm fucked.'

'Ouch.'

'Yeah…'

_Should've bought a UPS my dude._ Thought Izuku absently as he tried to decide between a red hoodie and a green one. Grabbing the green, he rehung the red hoodie before scurrying over to the men's jeans.

'Do you know why the power went out?'

'Nope. Was there a villain attack?'

'Yeah, there was. And get this, you know Spider-Man? Well he's dead!'

Pants halfway up his legs, Izuku froze and looked over at the two employees in surprise.

'Really? How'd he die?'

'Apparently he was messing around with some, like, high voltage wires or something and blew himself up.'

'Ha! What an idiot.'

As the two laughed, Izuku paused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

_I guess the authorities must have found Stain's body and assumed it was me. That's weird. The government must know better. What are they playing at declaring me dead? Maybe the media just screwed up…_

'Anyway, what're you doing later? If you're already doomed, why not get drunk with me and the boys?'

While the two chatted, he finished dressing himself. Grabbing a pair of shoes, he snuck out the way he had come. Once he was outside, he calmly walked over to the subway and stole aboard the train back home. It was late morning by the time he finally arrived at his apartment. As he trekked up the winding staircase, his mind was busily thinking about what being "dead" meant. Everyone at the League of Villains knew that he was hunting down his copycat so it was unlikely that they would assume he was dead, nor did he want them to. After all the trouble he had gone through to get accepted by those loonies he didn't want them replacing him for the mission. What was more concerning was the government's stance. Did the announcement of his demise mean that the hero agencies had given up?

_I guess I'll find out sooner or later._ He mused as he at last arrived at his floor, _I wonder if Knuckleduster thinks I'm dead?_

At last arriving on his floor, he tried to walk as normally as he could to his apartment. Stopping outside, he did another last-minute inspection of himself. Just by looking at him, you would have no idea that he was injured. After combing his dishevelled hair with his fingers, he took a deep breath, opened the door, and went inside.

* * *

Walking in, Izuku greeted his mother who was busily ironing some clothes by the television. Lifting her head up from her work, she pursed her lips and gave him an appraising look.

'Good morning, Izuku.' she said stiffly, 'New clothes?'

'Huh?'

He looked down in slight confusion before quickly snapping his attention back to her.

'Uh…Y-Yeah! I, um, needed to…wash my old clothes but uh…The people I was staying with? Their dryer was broken, well not b-broken per se, just that the, uh, power was out so I borrowed some… clothes while they dried. Yeah.'

He cleared his throat. She was just _looking_ at him; considering his words. There was no way in hell she was buying any of his story.

'A-Anyway, how're things?' he asked.

'Fine.' she said briskly.

'Good. That's…good.'

Izuku and his mother stood staring at each other for a few more moments before he cleared his throat again and began inching his way towards his room.

'W-Well, I'll leave you to it then. I'm gonna go…study. The end of term tests are coming up and I need to make sure I stay on track, you know? I-I'll be in my room.'

She opened her mouth to say something, but then appeared to reconsider. Instead she gave him a curt nod and returned to her folding. Sidling past her, he stiffly walked to his room. Once he had closed his door, he let out a long, hissing breath.

_That was dreadful._

Going to his computer, he tried to sit at his desk but quickly stopped as he felt his stomach flair up again. Biting back a gasp of pain, he pivoted around and went to his bed instead. Easing himself down, he lay back and groaned.

As he lay back and tried to relax, his eyes went to his window. As he looked outside, he noticed movement against the glass. The spider was back and was busy spinning a new web. Watching it work, he let his mind go blank for awhile. Between the stretches of silk, he noticed the city starting up again. Despite the nightmare it had been through cars were pulling out into the streets and people were emerging from their houses to go about their business. Would they ever know about Stain? It probably didn't matter. Just like all the threats that had come before, and all the threats that were to come, life continued.

He closed his eyes. He would need to gather his strength. There were sure to be other villains out there and Spider-Man would need to be ready.


	36. Routine

Izuku stumbled into class just as the bell chimed. Despite it being a Monday, he couldn't remember the last time he was so happy to be at school. During the weekend, he had tried to just quietly relax and recover from his injuries at home, but his mother had been unbearable. All weekend she had hovered around him, asking him questions about his friends, his schoolwork, and what he was up to. He couldn't take it, but with his body still feeling wrecked he had no other option then to endure it.

While his classmates were busily arranging their things on their workbenches, they were all excitedly chatting away about their internships and what they had been up to. A few of them called out to him, but he pretended not to hear and kept moving. He had a headache and wasn't in the mood to talk.

Arriving at his own table, he unceremoniously upended his back pack and gingerly took his seat. His stomach was _killing_ him.

As he winced, Moyashi who was already sitting, glanced over.

'Tough week?' he asked.

'You have no idea.' Izuku responded as he attempted to get as comfortable as possible on the rigid chair, 'How was yours?'

'Pretty good. I know how to build a washing machine now.'

'Ah, career opportunities abound. Good for you.' Izuku mumbled as he settled his head down on top of his backpack.

At that moment Power Loader entered the class and the conversations died away.

'Welcome back everyone.’ Power Loader said, ‘I know that you all had an exciting week and are eager to share your experiences interning, but let's not get distracted. Midterms are coming up and we all just lost a week of school time so you'll have to work twice as hard I'm afraid.'

The class let out a winding groan and Power Loader grinned.

'Yes. So, if you would all please open your textbooks to page 214…'

* * *

After enduring Power Loader's lengthy exam prep session, Izuku's head felt like it was going to explode. Bumbling after his classmates to the cafeteria, he slouched over on the bench and moaned miserably. Several of his classmates grinned at him before going back to their own lunches.

'What's the matter Izuku? Have a tummy ache?' Mei teased as she took her seat across from him.

'Yes, actually.'

She tittered. Pulling out her own lunch, she bit into her sandwich with relish. Izuku watched her forlornly. For the last few days he couldn't handle anything besides soft foods. Opening the tin to his meagre pudding, he began to spoon feed himself.

'Hey guys…' Saigo said as he sat down, 'Don't look now, but class 1-A is giving us the stink eye.'

Naturally, everyone ignored him and immediately looked up or twisted around in their chairs to see. Sure enough all the members of class 1-A was glaring towards Izuku and Mei. Izuku felt his spider-sense flutter. They sure did look pissed off.

'Do you think they're still upset about the Sports Festival?' Hiretsuna asked worriedly.

'Naw.' Mei said, haphazardly waving her sandwich over at class 1-A's table and their scowls deepened, 'They're just mad because of what me and Izuku did last week.'

'Oh? What did you do?' Bukimi asked eagerly.

_Here we go…_ Izuku thought, suppressing a grin as Mei rushed to finish swallowing her food.

'Well! We….'

Izuku listened with the rest of the class as Mei told them all about their prank. When she got to the part about the mysterious packages several of his classmates exclaimed in disbelief.

'No way! You actually did that? What if they caught you guys?' one of their classmates asked.

Mei gave a casual shrug, though the effect was ruined somewhat by her own nervous smile.

'I'm surprised you went along with it, Izuku. I kind of thought you were smarter than that.' Saigo said, jostling him in the ribs playfully. The hit caused him to double over coughing.

'Y-Yeah.' Izuku said weakly, 'You're telling me.'

'Well what's done is done.' Mei declared, dusting the crumbs off herself, 'It was for their own good really. I consider it after school training.'

'I'm just surprised you'd alienate potential customers, Mei.' Kiska said evilly and Mei's smile instantly vanished.

'W-What?' Mei said fearfully, 'No! Th-They wouldn't be so petty. It was just a harmless prank!'

She looked around for support but nobody said anything and she dropped her head to the table.

'Izuku!' she moaned, 'Why'd I let you talk me into this? Argh, this is a PR nightmare!'

'Kiska has a point, Mei.' Bukimi added, grinning as Mei started to cradle her head in her arms, 'You'd better hope their boycott doesn't spread either. You know how things are with new businesses. Just one black mark on your reputation and…' Bukimi drew his hand across his throat and made a choking sound. Mei stood.

'I-I can salvage this!' she muttered, smoothing out her uniform, 'If I go and…explain the situation then I'm sure they'll understand. Are you coming Izuku?'

He shook his head.

'No. I don't really care too much. Feel free to throw me under the bus though.'

'Right. Wish me luck.'

Shoulders squared and chin held high, she strode off towards class 1-A's table and Izuku perked up in alarm.

'Hey, Mei! Wait! I was kidding! Leave me out of it!' he shouted after her, but she must not have heard because she kept walking.

Lowering his head back to the table, he rested his forehead against its cool surface and sighed.

_Well…It could be worse, I guess. At least I won't have any of the class 1-A kids coming up to me and asking for me to build them anything. I have enough work as it is._

* * *

Meanwhile in city hall, a professionally dressed man was standing in front of the district ballot centre sweating through his shirt. He was the campaign manager for the beleaguered election team for the incumbent mayor. It had been a harrowing year. His boss's campaign had been mired in one controversy after the other. Between the corruption allegations, the brothel sex scandal, and the various media leaks he had thought he was fighting for a lost cause.

Not that he'd ever resign though. Goodness no. He may be an alcoholic, manic depressive with a cocaine addiction, but he wasn't suicidal. If he even so much as tried to call in sick he'd be found floating headless in the bay.

Biting a fingernail, he watched unblinking as the poll numbers began to close. His employer had a slight edge, but the lower income districts had yet to be counted. Normally he wouldn't be too concerned about the numbers, they could buy whatever district they wanted, but this wasn't like last year. Public opinion had notably shifted and several NGO's were carefully monitoring the election.

Suddenly the poll numbers began to come in and the man's jaw dropped in surprise. The voters were almost unanimously in his parties' favour. Breaking out into a wide grin, he stood motionless as the room around him broke out in applause and cheering.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, he spun on his heels and began fast walking to the exit. As he went, several people stopped to slap his back or give him a high-five. He would shake their hands or smile, but he was too preoccupied to stop. He needed to see the mayor and tell him the good news.

Rushing through the building, he raced up to the top floor. Coming to the mayor’s office, he burst into the waiting area where the mayor's pretty receptionist was busily inspecting her nails. She glanced up when she heard him approaching.

'So, what's the word?' she asked in an unenthused voice.

'No need to dust off the ol' resume, you still have a job.' he said jokingly. She stared in response, one eyebrow raised, a look of clear disdain on her face. Slowly his laughter petered out and he cleared his throat uncomfortably, 'Is he in?'

The woman sat up straighter in her chair and put aside her file. Pressing a button on her desktop phone, she spoke:

'Mr. Fisk? Mr. Nott is here to see you.'

'Very well. Send him in.'

The receptionist reached beneath her desk and pressed a different button and the mayor’s office door unlocked with a soft * _ping_ *.

'Go on ahead.'

'Thank you.' he said, stepping forward. After taking two steps he stopped and turned back to face her, 'You know, we're all going to celebrate at Tōtsuki's. If you're free-'

'Mr. Nott, don't press your luck. Mr. Fisk is waiting.' she said in a bored voice.

'R-Right.'

Swallowing back his disappointment, he turned back and pushed open the giant doors to the mayor's office. Stepping into the room, he saw Mr. Fisk standing behind his desk with his back to the door. He was facing the glass windows, staring out into the city.

Walking through the spacious mahogany office and around the large table sized desk, he stopped in the newly re-elected mayor’s shadow and cleared his throat.

'Mr. Fisk, the election results are in.'

'And?' Mr. Fisk rumbled in his deep baritone voice without turning.

'C-Congratulations, we've – I mean, you – have been re-elected.'

Mr. Fisk turned and Nott resisted the urge to take a step backward. Even under these circumstances his boss was an intimidating man. Standing well over a meter taller and likely weighing a couple hundred pounds more, he had no doubt that the giant could effortlessly crush him as easily as he might an empty can. He shuddered to think what would have happened if he didn’t have good news. Mr. Fisk studied him for a moment.

'Mr. Nott,' started Fisk and he felt himself tense, 'you have outdone yourself.'

Nott was stunned. He never imagined he would receive such high praise. Working his lips, he attempted to speak, but Fisk wasn't finished.

'I must confess that in recent weeks I considered the mayoral office lost to me. As a result, I made a rather embarrassing choice to enact certain contingences regarding the allocation of campaign resources. A choice I will need to undo if possible.'

A flutter of confusion passed over Nott's face before he smiled vacantly. He didn't have the slightest clue what contingences Fisk could be referring to and he preferred it that way.

'Ye-Yes. Well. The party staffers and the media are waiting for your victory speech. Shall we expect you in the next, say, ten minutes?'

'Yes. I will be down shortly.'

'Very good then sir. I'll go prepare the room.'

Nott turned and exited. As he walked towards the lobby he felt as though the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders.

* * *

Fisk watched Nott retreat from his office. Once he had left and the door had closed behind him, Fisk picked up his oversized phone and pressed a number. After the first ring, a man answered.

'Sir?'

'What's your status?' Fisk asked.

'We're at location and on standby. Ready to proceed at your order.' came the brisk reply.

'Cancel the operation.'

Without waiting for a response, Fisk hung up his phone and turned his mind over to more pressing matters. Navigating around his desk and opening the door to his private closet, he considered his wardrobe. As he thumbed through his suit jackets, he couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed. In the wake of Shocker's arrest and exile he had entertained the fantasy of retiring from public life and returning to the underworld to reign as he had years ago. But alas, he had diversified; expanded. One does not progress in life by looking backward after all.

Selecting a white blazer, he exited his cavernous closet and went to his mirror. Putting the jacket on, he straightened his cuffs and judged his appearance with as critical an eye as he could muster. He was no fashion aficionado, but he had often been complemented on his taste.

Satisfied, he left his office. As he exited, his secretary dutifully fell in step behind him and mutely accompanied him to the elevator. Entering, the pair continued on in silence as they rode the elevator to the lobby. While they descended, he considered his position. What more could he want? City hall was his. The streets were his. Musutafu was his. If he were to abdicate, all he would be doing is trading one office for another. And yet, he felt strangely unfulfilled.

Arriving at the lobby, he walked out to the conference hall where the press and his loyal staff had gathered. Upon spotting him, the journalists swarmed him with pictures and shouts for his attention. Giving them a broad smile and a wave, he continued on to the stage where Nott was already introducing him.

While Nott spoke, he looked at his campaign manager thoughtfully. Nott had first entered his employ shortly after he was elected mayor twelve years ago. At the time he had been intrigued by Nott's intuitive understanding of the political climate of Musutafu and willingness to go to any lengths to achieve victory. However, as he learned over the years, Nott was also a man of many vices. Although not unforgivable in and of itself, it had been people like Nott who had tarnished his reputation and created this situation in the first place.

Just the thought of the scandals made his blood boil. It had been humiliating, seeing his name tied to such degeneracy, slandered in the media like some common corrupt bureaucrat. He was more than just a politician. More than just some criminal. More even than what his own men believed him to be. For a visionary like him to even be implicated, if only by association, was unconscionable.

He had decided. He would have Nott killed after all. Originally, he had arranged to have Nott’s wife and son murdered as well, but in light of Nott's efforts in winning him the election, he decided to grant him that mercy at least.

Yes, the city was his and always would be. There were contenders no doubt. Shocker was sure to be return - this time with the rest of the Sinister Six - to recapture the Trigger market and reassert their dominance, but he was ready for them. Working the drug trade from the production side, Overhaul and his Eight Precept's of Death might attempt to gather enough power to rebuild the Yakuza, but they had nothing to offer beyond their organization's supposedly vaunted history. The last gasp of the old world, they would disappear soon. The mysterious "League of Villains" was skulking around, but they seemed uninterested in actual power and had obsessed themselves with causing general mayhem and destruction. So long as that was all they did, then he was content to let them continue. The heroes would deal with them. Everything was under control.

'…and now, the man of the hour himself! Our re-elected mayor; Wilson Fisk!' finished Nott, bringing his hands together.

The room joined him in applause and Fisk stepped forward. Smiling and waving, he went to the podium and delivered his speech.

* * *

Izuku slowly made his way through the bustling development studio and over to his workstation. The day was almost over. Soon he would be back at home, and he could have a nice long rest. School had been far more exhausting than he had thought it would be. Thankfully he hadn't had foundational heroic studies or he probably wouldn't have made it.

'Hey, Izuku! Heads up!'

He ducked just in time to dodge the spear that Kiska was removing from her suit. Proceeding past her and the rest of his classmates, he leaned up against his workbench and caught his breath.

_I shouldn't try building anything today, I'll just end up hurting myself. I guess I can review the code for my suit's computer. That should be nice and-_

'Midoriya!' Power Loader barked and he flinched, 'Principal Nezu wants to see you. Go to his office.'

'OoooOOOOOoo…'

He felt his spider-sense thrum. Stiff legged, he walked past his smirking classmates while trying his best to ignore their teasing comments.

'Uh, oh! Someone's in trouble.'

'Better pack your bags Midoriya!'

'I call dibs on Izuku's suit!'

Sweating bullets, he exited the development studio and went to the administration wing of the school. Along the way he tried to think about what he might be in trouble for, but it was such a long list that he didn't know where to begin.

After suffering his way up the stairs, he entered the reception area before Principal Nezu's office. To his surprise Bakugo was sitting there. Bakugo's eyes immediately snapped over and he scowled fiercely.

'Deku!' Bakugo snarled, 'Why did I get called to the office!? What did you say?'

'K- Kacchan! Why're you here?' he stammered, taking a half step back in alarm.

'Cut the bullshit, Deku. I got called here! What did you say? What did you do?!'

'N-n-nothing! Honest! I was called here too!'

Bakugo stared into his eyes for a moment before snorting. Slumping back in his chair, Bakugo kicked out his legs and faced Nezu's closed office door. Izuku slowly made his way over to the chairs and joined him. After about a minute of tense waiting, the door to the office opened revealing Mr. Nezu himself. Izuku was relieved to see him smiling.

'Mr. Midoriya and Mr. Bakugo!' Principal Nezu said, clapping his paws together, 'I'm sorry to pull you from your classes, but I have a visitor for the two of you. Come in, come in…'

He and Bakugo glanced at each other curiously before following their diminutive principal into his office. Walking in, they stopped. Seated on one of the chairs in front of Nezu's desk was Principal Sasaina!

'Ah! Boys.' she said, taking off her sunglasses and giving them both a toothy smile, 'You do remember me, don't you? Just kidding. Of course, you do. How could you forget? Well come on then, don't be shy.'

She gestured to the chairs beside hers. He and Bakugo shared another look before shuffling over and sitting on either side of her. Trotting around his desk, Nezu disappeared from view for a moment before suddenly popping up in his chair. Clasping his paws in front of him, he leaned in.

'So! I was just having a chat with your old principal boys, and she tells me that she's in the running for educator of the year!'

Izuku carefully kept his confusion from his face and tried to smile.

'O-Okay, that's great. Yeah. Congratulations.' Izuku said and Bakugo murmured indistinctly.

'Yes.' Sasaina said, crossing her legs and smiling smugly, 'Of course, not that I mean to brag, but how could they not? What with me rearing the two stars of the Sports Festival, I would say that it was about time my accomplishments were recognized. Don't you agree boys?'

'What are you talking about?' Bakugo said, frowning, 'You didn’t do anythi-‘

'Oh, you! Such a kidder Bakugo is!' Sasaina interrupted quickly, 'Such a _practical joker_. Really, the stories I could tell you, Mr. Nezu. When Bakugo was at Aldera he was a laugh riot. Always pulling pranks on his classmates.'

'Wha-'

'But he always knew when to draw the line.' Sasaina added, biting the tip of her glasses, 'For all his bluster, he's actually a very kind-hearted person. You know, in my experience most children with such a powerful – and dangerous – quirk like Bakugo develop a superiority complex. They become cruel and controlling, oftentimes becoming bullies. It can be quite the problem.'

'Oh, I can imagine.' Nezu said, taking a sip of tea.

'Yes. But thankfully I never had a problem with Bakugo.' Sasaina said smiling over at him, 'You can check his records. Clean as a whistle.'

Izuku couldn't help but glance over at Bakugo. His face was blank, but his eyes were wide and his pupils small. He hadn’t seen him that angry in a long time.

'And a good thing too! Nowadays, well, with the hero programs being so competitive I hear its impossible to get admitted unless your record is squeaky clean.'

Nezu's whiskers twitched, 'Very true. with crime on the rise we can only afford to have the best of the best as heroes. A single bad apple spoils the bunch or so they say.'

'Well. As I said, I never had a problem with Bakugo. Me and him would frequently talk about society and the responsibility we have as citizens. Didn't we Katsuki?'

'Yes.' Bakugo said in a hoarse tone just above a whisper, 'We did.'

Izuku did his best to keep his eyes carefully facing forward. He was afraid that if he looked over, the sight of his face would cause Bakugo to erupt.

'And then there's Izuku.' Sasaina said putting a hand on his shoulder and smiling at him, 'The pride and joy of Aldera. The hours I spent tutoring him! Did you know that our gym instructor was nearly worked to an early retirement off of Izuku alone?' Sasaina let out a tinkling laugh and Nezu smiled warmly, 'Yes. But we could all see the potential in him and we kept at it! Polishing and polishing until our little quirkless misfit became a true diamond in the rough. Imagine, a quirkless person coming in second in the Sports Festival! We're just so proud of you Izuku!'

'Th-Thanks.' Izuku said smiling at her uncertainly, 'I really couldn't have done it without you.'

'Mmm, I know. You must never forget the people who got you where you are so that in the future you can help others achieve similar greatness. Don't you agree, Izuku?' Sasaina said, tightening her grip on his shoulder.

'Uh, yeah! Yeah, definitely! I mean, how could I not acknowledge you and-' Izuku swallowed, '-Mr. Ijime. Without you guys, I'd probably be a high school dropout or a drug addict or something.'

'Very inspiring.' Nezu said happily, taking another loud sip of tea, 'Well, back to the task at hand. What brings you to UA?'

'Oh, I was just hoping to enlist Bakugo and Midoriya's aid in my bid to secure educator of the year. Personally, I'm not one to seek out recognition, but the winner does receive a substantial increase in funding for their school.'

'And a tidy salary boost as well!' chirped Nezu gleefully and Sasaina laughed again.

'True, true. But that's besides the point. I believe that every child could be a Bakugo or Midoriya just waiting to be discovered. With the extra funding, who knows how many children might uncover their inner hero?'

'Well that's settled then. What do you need? I'm sure Misters Bakugo and Izuku are willing to help you however they're able.' Nezu said earnestly.

'Oh, I don't need much. Just a short essay from each of them describing their experience at Aldera, how they were trained, the values they learned, that sort of thing.'

'H-How long?' Bakugo asked through gritted teeth.

'Mmm, forty pages or so. Of course, it can be longer if you feel that is insufficient.'

'And when is this due?' Izuku asked in a hollow voice.

'Well the awards deadline is fast approaching. I would say a week at the latest.'

Bakugo opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, he shoved his own fist into it. Coughing, he doubled over.

'Uh, sure. We can…do…that.' Izuku said, sighing. Sasaina grinned and abruptly stood.

'Excellent. I look forward to collecting your papers on Friday. Good luck with your midterm's boys, I heard that at UA they're a real doozy.'

'Yes, they sure are!' Nezu said chuckling, 'Thank you for the visit!'

With a final farewell to both of them Sasaina sashayed out of Nezu's office. Izuku could only sit there, stunned.

'Well, best be back to class boys.' Nezu said as he leaned back in his chair, 'Midterms are fast approaching and I wasn't exaggerating, they really are a doozy.'

Izuku and Bakugo took their cue and stood. Exiting, Izuku softly closed the doors behind them. Bakugo managed to keep his composure until they reached the hall. Taking a deep breath, he unleashed a long, unbroken chain of curses, threats, and insults that stretched for over a minute. Once he was finished, Izuku could only nod.

'Yeah, you're telling me.' Izuku said resignedly, 'But hey,' he said, shooting Backugo a wry grin, 'at least its for a good cause.'

Bakugo slowly turned to him, eyes shining with fury.

'J-just kidding.' Izuku said stepping back, palms raised in surrender, 'It was a joke, Kacchan. Just a joke!'

Growling in rage, Bakugo charged and Izuku took off running back to the development studio, his stomach aching with every step. As he fled for his life, he couldn't help but think about his time at UA. Maybe it wasn't too late to become a dropout drug addict?


	37. Epilogue

In the loose foothills beneath the Akaishi Mountains far from Musutafu, a lone man made his way up the middle of a dusty gravel road. Beneath the glare of the hot sun, his pale skin had begun to burn and he was sweating profusely. Flies buzzed around him incessantly, attracted to his bloody, dirt covered clothes and his shoeless feet were bruised and blistered. From the look of him, he seemed like an especially down on his luck vagrant.

However, despite his haggard appearance there was a bounce to his step. Whistling merrily, he swung his arms out and marched forward. Every few steps he would stop and skip, kicking a loose stone in front of him. He didn't know where he was going or what might lie ahead. The possibilities were endless and life had never been better.

Coming to the top of a small hill, the valley suddenly opened up around him. Brushing a lock of red hair from his face, his bright blue eyes lit up at what he saw. Perhaps a kilometre away, there was a small, brightly painted farmhouse. A red pickup truck was parked in front of the porch and he could make out the distant shapes of children moving around the backyard. Craning his neck skyward, he stretched, hands reaching towards the clouds.

Sighing contentedly, he dropped his arms back to his sides and resumed his jaunty pace.

Hours later the hero pursuit team assigned to the tracking and apprehension of Cletus Kasady would stumble upon the farm. The grisly scene of carnage would later be described as the most shocking mass murder that Japan had seen in decades. This senseless act of wanton barbarity would galvanize the public who demanded action. In response, professional heroes from across the country would widen their search to a Japan wide manhunt, but Kasady would remain at large. Unbeknownst to everyone, perhaps even including Kasady himself, he was slowly working his way around back to Musutafu. Why none could say. But there was an energy to Musutafu. A pulse like a heartbeat that seemed to attract the exceptional. And in a society where heroes were common, the exceptional were terrifying indeed.

* * *

**The End**

* * *

_Whew! That's it! Another story successfully re-edited and ported! I prefer uploading my stories in one big glut, but because I'm busy I had to upload day-by-day, chapter-by-chapter. Sorry for the inconvenience. Normally I like to include some fun facts in my epilogue, but I'll spare you all and instead simply say:_

_Thanks for reading!_


End file.
